Arigo in best game in last 4 seasons, fires 31 to lead Coke to wildcard playoffs

ANTIPOLO CITY – Undermanned Coca-Cola came back from a 20-point deficit in the first half to beat Red Bull, 88-86, and claimed the last berth in the wildcard phase in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup Friday night at the Ynares Center here.

Forward John Arigo finished with a personal conference-high 31 points, while sophomore guard Ronjay Buenafe contributed 14 points all in the second half including nine in the third frame.

The win gave Coke a 7-11 win-loss record at the end of its elimination round campaign, while booting out Red Bull with its 5-12 card.

It was the first time the Barakos will not advance past the eliminations since the 2004-05 Philippine Cup.

Buenafe’s three-pointer leveled the count at 80-all, and following a Red Bull error, he made another jumper that gave his team an 82-80 advantage with 3:23 to play. It was their first taste of the lead since taking a 15-14 edge in the first period.

The Barakos, who had previously reached at least all of the best-of-7 semifinals, turned the ball over anew when Paolo Hubalde lost control of the ball, and Coke’s new recruit Rodney Santos buried a jumper to make it 84-80 with 1:52 remaining in the game.

After Cyrus Baguio cut the deficit to two, 82-84, on two free throws off a foul by Buenafe, the 6-foot-3 Arigo nailed a three-pointer that gave the Tigers an 87-82 with 51 seconds left to play.

Red Bull came within four after Gaby Espinas split his free throws and, following a 24-second shot clock by Coke, Jeff Chan made a trey, 86-88, with 10 seconds left.

Alex Cabagnot made only one of two foul shots in the next play, giving the Barakos a chance to tie or win, but off a timeout, Chan missed a game-winning attempt from the three-point territory as time expired.

“Sinabihan ko sila (players) na this is not an ordinary game, it’s a do or die game,” Coke interim mentor Kenneth Duremdes said.

“I told them na ‘di na tayo aasa sa Sta. Lucia Realty para talunin nila ang Red Bull,” added Duremdes, referring to the Barakos last game in the elims versus the defending champion Realtors on Sunday at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.

Red Bull dropped to 5-12.

“I told them na kung kailangan namin manalo, kunin namin sa second half, kasi ang sama ng laro namin sa first half eh,” Duremdes said.

“The good thing about this team is that kung wala ‘yung isa key player namin, like nung nawala si Asi, Nic stepped up. Nawala si Nic, si Mark naman. Now it’s John’s turn. But it’s still a total team effort,” he added.

It was the highest scoring output for Arigo, or since the former University of North Florida stalwart scored a career-best-tying 35 points in a 104-97 win over FedEx during the 2004-05 Philippine Cup.

Bigman Mark Telan finished with double-double 10 points and 14 rebounds for the Tigers, who missed two key players, Asi Taulava (fractured left middle finger) and Nic Belasco (hairline fracture on right ankle).

Ahead by three points, 20-17, the Barakos used a 19-2 run to take a 39-19 lead on a jumper by Baguio, who led the team in scoring with 15 points, with 9:19 to play in the second quarter.

Red Bull also missed the playoffs for just the second time in the last 19 conferences.

They were still up, 45-30 at halftime break. (WG)

The scores:

Coca-Cola 88 - Arigo 31, Buenafe 14, Telan 10, Santos 9, Calimag 8, Macapagal 5, Cabagnot 5, Misolas 4, Bonus 2, Catli 0, Dimaunahan 0.

Red Bull 86 - Baguio 15, Najorda 14, Chan 13, Sharma 12, Espinas 7, Rodriguez 6, Duncil 4, Ybanez 3, Membrere 0, Hubalde 0, Cruz 0.

Quarterscores: 15-20, 30-45, 61-67, 88-86.


http://www.pba.ph/content/view/2423/1/