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Asi
Taulava said he could not explain his emotions after he
and the Coca-Cola Tigers dealt Talk ’N Text an
unexpected 101-85 rout on Wednesday that denied the
Phone Pals a playoff for the last outright quarterfinal
berth in the 2007-08 Smart Philippine Basketball
Association Philippine Cup.
“Words
can’t describe my feeling. But I will tell you exactly
how I feel after Friday’s game,” offered the hulking
center referring to their knockout game with the Phone
Pals, who were relegated to the wild-card in the company
of the Tigers, the Air21 Express and defending champion
Barangay Ginebra Kings.
The four
teams are disputing the fourth and last quarterfinal
berth. Alaska, Red Bull and Magnolia have secured their
spots in the best-of-three series.
The
Coke-TnT encounter is scheduled at 4:50 p.m. while the
Air21-Ginebra tiff comes off at
7:20 at the Cuneta Astrdome.
Winners
of both games will face off in a lone encounter on
Saturday, also at the Astrodome to determine the last
quarterfinals cast.
“He! He!
He! I’ve got them in the wildcard round. Our victory
tonight won’t mean anything if we won’t knock them out,”
said Taulava, highly motivated against his former team
after his unexpected trade on December 27.
“I won’t
back down from them. We’ll beat them whatever it takes,”
promised Taulava, who tallied 14 points and cornered 13
boards on Friday as the Tigers split their two-game
series in the elimination round with TnT.
“It’s
going to be a big challenge how we could sustain our
energy on Friday. But I’m optimistic the guys we’ll
respond to the challenge,” said Coca-Cola coach Binky
Favis.
The
other match between the Express and the Kings is also
expected to be close. The two teams also split their
series in the eliminations.
Meanwhile, Carlo Sharma and Jondan Salvador have been
summoned by new commissioner Sonny Barrios today to air
their sides in the ugly incident that marred the
Red-Bull Purefoods game last Wednesday.
The two
forwards provided color and excitement to an otherwise
dull encounter by trading blows in full view of the
public early in the fourth quarter of the match
eventually won by Red Bull, 97-84.
Purefoods (12-6) has gained outright passage in the
Final Four while Red Bull has secured its place in the
quarterfinals.
Sharma
and Salvador, both banished from the floor—are facing
stiff fines and suspensions that should hurt their
team’s campaign in the playoffs. |
