THE conference is barely two weeks old and yet the Coca-Cola Tigers are already making quite a noise.

Obviously, the acquisition of Mark Macapagal and Nick Belasco during the in-between-conference break is turning out to be sound trades that should benefit the club when the tournament progresses.

But at the end of the day, it’s the ability of import Jason Dixon to play consistently that provides the big difference for the Tigers, who are tied with the Red Bull Barakos and the Sta. Lucia Realtors at the top of the standings following huge victories over Talk ’N Text and Purefoods.

The Tigers could assume the solo lead in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Fiesta Conference with a third-straight victory over the Welcoat Dragons this afternoon. 

Coke’s other reinforcement—Calvin Cage—needs two more weeks for his fractured right ankle to heal. He sustained the injury during his debut on March 29 in an 87-79 victory over the TnT Phone Pals in Panabo, Davao del Norte.

Coach Binky Favis has declared the team has no intention to drop Cage, and stressed he is willing to wait until the impressive playmaker recovers from his injury.

Nevertheless, the Tigers have brought in a back-up import named George Gervin Jr., a shooting guard and son of George “Iceman” Gervin—a four-time National Basketball Association scoring champion and nine-time All-Star with the San Antonio Spurs.

The young Gervin is scheduled for official measurement at the PBA office this morning, but there’s no word yet from Coke management if he will suit up in its 4:50 p.m. game against the Dragons at the Araneta Coliseum.

Whether Gervin plays or not, the Tigers are heavily favored to clinch their third-straight victory against the Dragons, who could be headed for another frustrating conference unless they change imports.

Corey Santee is averaging 19 points and seven assists a game, while Jason Keep has 10 points and 11 boards an outing and is hardly the kind of import who could turn things around for Welcoat. 

The Dragons opened their campaign with a 96-105 loss to the Air21 Express, followed by an embarrassing 95-131 rout against the TnT Phone Pals on Friday.

In the day’s other encounter at 7:20 p.m., the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants and the Express try to get back on the winning track when they go up against each other.

The Giants are coming off a heart-breaking 107-108 loss at the hands of the Tigers on Saturday despite getting 37 points from Darius Rice. Air21 is hoping to recover from a 92-102 defeat to the Barakos on Friday.

Marquez: I’m here to demand, not beg

DETHRONED super-featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez on Tuesday clarified he came to Manila not to beg for a rematch with Manny Pacquiao, but to demand for one.

Louie still believes he can get hands on $0.13M

LUISITO ESPINOSA is not losing hope that he would still get his purse for a world title fight against Arentina’s Carlos Rios staged at the South Cotabato Stadium in Koronadal City more than 10 years ago.

ADAMSON University kept its composure, then leaned on guest player Neriza Bautista in the third set as the Lady Falcons hacked out a shocking  25-22, 25-21, 25-23 victory over fancied San Sebastian College (SSC) to seize the solo lead in the Shakey’s V-League Season 5 at The Arena in San Juan Tuesday.

Patrick Gregorio, the first to be named executive director of the powerful Basketball Association of the Philippines-Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (BAP-SBP), is contemplating stepping down from his post, a source said.

THE conference is barely two weeks old and yet the Coca-Cola Tigers are already making quite a noise.

HAPEE Toothpaste needed a strong first half in repulsing Burger King, 100-85, for its third-straight win Tuesday night in the 2008 Philippine Basketball League (PBL) Lipovitan Amino Sports Cup at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

BACOLOD CITY—Defending national women’s champion University of Visayas (UV) easily disposed of University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos (UNO-R) to open its back-to-back bid on a high note and lead the opening-day winners of the 12th Nestea Beach Volley Visayas Eliminations Tuesday at the University of St. La Salle sand courts.

Mercedes-Benz, the worldwide leader in luxury vehicles, is taking an aggressive stance in promoting golf in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) region for 2008.  The German auto giant had recently signed a three-year deal as the Asean Golf Tour’s title sponsor.

THERE’S the saying “a sound mind, a sound body.”

No matter what is one’s religious persuasion, there’s no doubt that positive thinking, or faith for some, does wonders. Not because things would magically turn in one’s favor, but because positive thinking is a matter of changing one’s perspective.