PBA: New look Tigers devour Painters, 111-103

Putting premium on speed over height, Powerade made the tough decision of trading away big man Asi Taulava during the off-season.

The gamble paid off in the Tigers’ PBA Philippine Cup debut. The Tigers did a lot of running and gunning on Wednesday night, burying the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters behind an avalanche of points in a 111-103 win at the Araneta Coliseum. Gary David fired a game-high 25 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field, while Mark Macapagal added 19 for a Powerade team that also had three other players finishing in double figures. The Tigers are now tied with rookie franchise Meralco Bolts for the early lead in the All-Filipino conference. Although Powerade committed 33 turnovers, the team made up for it by sinking 11 three-point shots and a high 51-percent shooting from the field. “I was kind of worried that we committed so many turnovers," admitted coach Bo Perasol in his post-game interview. “But at the back of my mind, this is the kind of payoff, that every chance we have, we’re going to run." Added David, “We're small this season, but we're quicker. And that’s the emphasis of coach Bo, to take advantage of our quickness." Larry Rodriguez scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in his first game for Rain or Shine after being shipped by Powerade in the off-season, while another newcomer on the Elasto Painters’ roster, Doug Kramer, also had a career-best of 19 markers – 15 of them coming in the first half. Unfortunately, the top gunners were not up to the task. Already missing the services of starting center Jay-R Reyes, the matter was made even worse as leading scorer Sol Mercado was held to just three points in the first half when the Tigers built the lead and momentum they needed. Mercado found a way to make his presence felt on offense in the second half, but his efforts proved too late in the day as the Tigers already had the game way under control. A three-pointer by Paolo Mendoza gave Powerade a 109-94 lead in the final 2:21. “Sometimes, we have the tendency to forget what we want to happen," said Perasol of Powerade’s known character. “We're always there for the first 43 minutes, and then in the last five, we just lose our focus." The Tigers earlier also lost grip of a 13-point lead after the Elasto Painters cut the deficit to within 69-73 in the third period. But William Antonio sank a triple, David added a basket, and the two added two points each after that as the Tigers pulled away anew, 82-71. Rookie Sean Anthony accounted himself well for the Tigers, scoring six points, dishing four assists and grabbing 12 rebounds in his PBA debut. - RCJ, GMANews.TV