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WHAT was expected to be a down-the-wire battle turned into a
lopsided affair for the Magnolia Beverage Masters as they clobbered
Coca-Cola Tigers ,108-96, Sunday to take a 1-0 lead in their
best-of-three quarterfinal series in the 2008 Smart-PBA Fiesta
Conference at the Cuneta Astrodome.
The Beverage Masters overpowered their opponents
as import Amal McCaskill and locals Lordy Tugade, Mike Cortez, Danny
Ildefonso and Dondon Hotiveros turned in double-digit scores.
The five combined for 84 points, which was more
than half of Magnolia’s total production. Ten of the 12 players
fielded by coach Jong Uichico were able to score.
In contrast, the Tigers had to rely on local
players as their two imports fared poorly.
The Beverage Masters will go for a sweep of the
short series on Wednesday to earn the right to face Air 21 in the
best-of-seven semifinals.
The winner between Barangay Ginebra and Sta.
Lucia Realty will meet Red Bull in the other semis showdown.
McCaskill and Tugade, who had 15 rebounds, led
Magnolia with 20 points followed by Cortez with 18. Ildefonso and
Hontiveros had 13 points each.
Asi Taulava finished with 20 points for the
Tigers while Nic Belasco and Ronjay Buenafe chipped in 17 and 15
points, respectively.
-- Frank Calapre
Scores:
MAGNOLIA 108 - McCaskill 20, Tugade 20, Cortez
18, Hontiveros 13, Ildefonso 13, Pingris 8, Bono 7, Peña 6, Racela
3, Villanueva 0, Gonzales 0.
COCA-COLA 96 - Taulava 20, Belasco 17, Buenafe
15, Cabagnot 12, Macapagal 9, Catli 9, Dean 8, Dixon 6, Dimaunahan
0, Misolas 0.
Quarters: 30-18, 51-41, 76-72, 108-96
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