INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines—As the race for the two outright semifinal slots tightens, Coca-Cola aims to solidify its hold of the top spot against erratic Purefoods in the Smart-PBA Fiesta Conference Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

“It’s nice to be ahead but I believe we still need to continue climbing and continue improving,” said Coca-Cola coach Binky Favis.

The Tigers and Giants will clash at 7:20 p.m., right after the 4:50 p.m. battle between Magnolia and Welcoat.

“We hope we could ride the momentum of back-to-back wins and stay ahead of the pack,” said Favis. “If we continue working together, we stand a good chance.

The commissioner’s office, meanwhile, deferred Tuesday from issuing sanctions on Sta. Lucia Realty star Kelly Williams and Air21 center Homer Se, who figured in a third-quarter skirmish during the Express’ 95-93 overtime triumph over the Realtors on Sunday night.

Both Williams and Se requested to reset their meetings with league officials.

Williams was seen on television replays apparently trying to sneak in a punch to Wynne Arboleda of Air21 in a loose-ball battle while Se, who joined in the fracas, looked like he kneed Williams before elbowing Sta. Lucia’s Ryan Reyes, who was seen trying to calm things down.

The Tigers hold an 8-4 record, just half a game ahead of the Air21 Express and the Red Bull Barako, who are sharing the second spot with 8-5 slates.

Last Friday, Jason Dixon powered the Tigers in the final canto for a 94-87 triumph over the Dragons as the league leaders remained unbeaten since second import Donald Copeland replaced Gee Gervin.

“We are still within reach of the leaders and Coke is a good test for us; they are battling for supremacy while we are fighting for survival,” said coach Ryan Gregorio of his Giants, who fell to 5-6 following a horrendous loss to defending champion Alaska, 88-60, five days ago.

“Coke is always a match up and nightmare for us,” added Gregorio. “Dixon and Asi (Taulava) are solid post threats. Defense is key, but the challenge for us is to score more. Scoring 60 in a 48-minute game is totally embarrassing.”

The Giants posted the lowest number of points this conference following a shameful 26.6 percent from the field against the Aces.

While the Giants expectedly worry about the league’s top performing squad, Magnolia coach Siot Tanquingcen has his own apprehensions of the cellar-dwelling Welcoat.

“Welcoat is a tough team; they lost by slim margins in almost all their games, even against the top teams,” said Tanquingcen, whose Beverage Masters dropped a 108-101 decision against the Dragons in their first encounter.

“They beat us in our first game, so we have to come into the game making sure we play our game right away.”

Fueled by Lordy Tugade’s late-game heroics, the Beverage Masters slipped past Talk ’N Text in an 84-82 road win last Saturday in Puerto Princesa City.

The Dragons, struggling at 3-9, agreed with Tanquingcen’s assessment.

“We played good in the last two games, we just didn’t get the breaks of the game—missing free throws and turning the ball over,” said Welcoat coach Caloy Garcia, who’s banking on imports Marquis Gainous and Corey Santee.

“The locals of Magnolia stepped up in their last game, so we have to check our defense against them.”