Buenafe heroics halt Tigers skid

Ronjay Buenafe came back strong from a three-game layoff, putting in 14 points in a decisive fourth-quarter romp that carried Coca-Cola to a 93-72 shellacking of Purefoods in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

Buenafe torched the Giants with perfect shooting in the payoff period, going 2-of-2 from the three-point area, 3-of-3 from the two-point zone and 2-of-2 from the stripe to help the Tigers check a three-game skid and improve their win-loss record to 4-7.

John Arigo had his contribution with four points, four rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block as he also returned from a brief layoff due to an injury.

“Ronjay and John were big factors as we stopped our skid. They’re our clutch shooters. They can initiate plays. We terribly missed them as we lost our last three games,” said interim Coca-Cola coach Kenneth Duremdes.

Buenafe delivered clutch shots after clutch shots as the 6-foot-1 guard, the first player from Emilio Aguinaldo College to make the pro league, fueled the Tigers’ searing breakaway from a 61-55 lead after the third period.

The Tigers converted six of eight three-point attempts in the final canto where they beat the Giants by 15 points, 32-17.

Coca-Cola posted its biggest lead at 86-64 on back-to-back triples by Buenafe himself.

Nic Belasco, Alex Cabagnot, Mark Telan and Asi Taulava took charge early on for the Tigers who scored a repeat of their 103-102 double-overtime win over the Giants last Oct. 15.

The Giants continued to struggle minus injured stalwarts Peter June Simon and Roger Yap as they absorbed a seventh loss against five wins.

Purefoods actually started strong but slowly faded away, nearly outscored by a single man – Buenafe – in the final period.

Air21 held Red Bull down to four points in the last five minutes of play and caught up with Rain or Shine (6-5) at fourth place with a 92-89 win in the second game.