Tigers hurt even more

If the PBA were to hand out a medal of valor, Coca-Cola should be a hands-down choice. Never has there been a team with so much courage as the Tigers.

But Coca-Cola has to brandish more than that in the Selecta All-Filipino Finals because of a big problem confronting the Tigers – severely crippled lineup.

Coach Chot Reyes will only have 10 players at his disposal as they face coach Tim Cone and his Alaska Milk Aces in Game Two of their best-of-five title showdown at the Araneta Coliseum at 6:15 p.m. tonight.

Reyes said Johnny Abarrientos is out for the rest of the finals with an orbital fracture surrounding his right eye while Jeffrey Cariaso, nursing a pulled groin muscle, is joining the Tigers only on Sunday at the earliest. Chris Bolado and Estong Ballesteros have long been sidelined by different injuries while Rafi Reavies is playing with a fractured right hand.

But Reyes has never ruled out the possibility of his Tigers bucking all their woes and getting back at the Aces tonight after a 67-70 defeat in Game One Wednesday at the Philsports Arena.

"Alam mo naman ang team na ito laban lang nang laban," said Reyes. "Kahit nga si Johnny gusto pang maglaro. Nagpagawa nga ng protective mask but I don’t think pwede pa siyang maglaro."

"Pakiramdam niya nalaglag ang panga niya, and his nose is still numb at the moment," Reyes added on the condition of Abarrientos following the incident he had two minutes into the second half of the series opener.

Abarrientos had been on fire before he suffered the injury. The one-time MVP awardee logged 20 points, two rebounds and the same number of assists and blocks in 17 minutes of action.

"Easily, 40 points ang nawala sa amin (on the ouster of Abarrientos and Cariaso)," said Reyes.

With his one-two punch out, Reyes said they will now try to win on defense, with the Tigers bidding to limit the offensive output of the Aces. He said: "We’ll try to keep the game close and hope for the best in the end."

"We’re not about to give up. If we can see Johnny trying to do whatever he can just to play despite the circumstances, who are we to tell the world that we have given up the fight?" he added.

In fact, Alaska coach Tim Cone didn’t dare close the door on a possible upset by Coca-Cola.

"They’re dropping like flies but they just continued to put pressure on us. They would just find a way to look you bad. They’re disrupting you on what you wanted to do," said Cone.

"Suddenly, we found ourselves the favorites in the series. But we’re not handling it well. We’re not playing well. We’re taking shots that should not be taken. We have to realize we can’t take them lightly. We can’t afford to give them life," he added.

Though Abarrientos joined Cariaso in the sideline, the Tigers played gallantly in Game One, keeping the game close up to the finish. They hustled a lot, forcing the Aces to 21 turnovers while limiting themselves to only 11.