MANILA, Philippines -- Asi Taulava provided a lot of fireworks on the court -- and off of it as well.
The 6-foot-10 behemoth scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for Coca-Cola in a 101-85 victory over Talk ‘N Text Wednesday night that sealed a return match between the two clubs in the wild-card phase of the Smart PBA Philippine Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.
And after doing the damage on the floor, Taulava again took shots at his former team of almost 10 years, which dealt him away last month in the season’s most celebrated trade.
“There’s a lot of fire in me and I don’t think I am going to back down,” Taulava said, just minutes after the win. “We’ll do whatever it takes to win (against Talk ‘N Text in the wildcard), because this win means nothing if we don’t beat them again.”
The victory actually meant nothing for the Tigers, but it was galling for the Phone Pals, who lost the chance to forge a playoff with idle Magnolia for the natural No. 5 slot, the last automatic berth in the quarterfinals.
“Words cannot describe it (win),” Taulava added. “But I’ll tell you how it really feels on Friday.”
Talk ‘N Text wound up with a 9-9 elimination round slate and drew the No. 9-ranked Tigers (7-11) as wild-card foes. Air21, the eighth seed, clashes with defending champion Barangay Ginebra in a pair of KO games on Friday also at the dilapidated Pasay venue.
Source: http://sports.inquirer.net/breakingnews/breakingnews/view/20080117-112906/Taulava-powers-Tigers-past-Pals
No comments:
Post a Comment