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Coca-Cola and Air21 dispute the last quarterfinals slot Sunday in
the 33rd Smart-PBA Philippine Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome. Gametime
is 6:30 p.m.
Both teams scored upset wins Friday to finish
the double-round elims with 7-11 slates.
The Tigers banked on Asi Taulava and Mark Telan
to beat Talk ‘N Text, 81-73, while the Express ousted defending
champion Ginebra, 101-95.
The winner will meet No. 3 Alaska in the
best-of-three quarterfinal round starting Wednesday.
“Air21 is a strong team but we won’t be here
without passing through difficult tests and we
succeeded, which means we have a strong chance,” said Coca-Cola
mentor Binky Favis.
The Express defeated the Tigers twice in the
elims—102-97 on November 3 and 102-97 on December 23.
“We’ll just play our best. That’s our
trademark, always play with our best,” said Air21 coach Bo Perasol.
Taulava, who averages 16 points a game but is
No. 1 in rebounds with 14.2 per game, will banner Coca-Cola while
Air21 will be spearheaded by Arwind Santos, ranked third in scoring
(20.7) and fourth in rebounds (11.5).
-- Frank Calapre
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