INQUIRER Sports

GAMES FRIDAY (Araneta Coliseum)
5 p.m.?Coca-Cola vs Purefoods
7:30 p.m.?Sta. Lucia vs Burger King

MANILA, Philippines - Purefoods tries to extend Coca-Cola's agony when they clash in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup eliminations at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

Game time is 5 p.m. with the Tender Juicy Giants seeking to win a second straight game and inflict a fourth straight loss on the Tigers, a rock-solid side on paper who have lost their first three outings horribly.

The Tigers are in one of their worst starts in years despite adding Dennis Espino to the roster in one of the most celebrated trades in the offseason.

Asi Taulava?s absence has also weighed down Coca-Cola with the 6-foot-9 man-mountain expected to be out for at least another week because of an ankle injury.

Burger King guns for its second win against Sta. Lucia in the 7:30 p.m. contest.

The Realtors will come into the game still nursing their first loss of the season, an 83-100 ripping at the hands of the Talk ?N Text Tropang Texters.

Burger King, on the other hand, has shown that there is life after losing Wynne Arboleda as the Whoppers hacked out a 91-89 victory over Rain or Shine last Saturday in Gingoog, Misamis Oriental, where Ronjay Buenafe knocked in the game-winner with 1.6 seconds left.
No-bearing games

Meanwhile, the Commissioner?s Office declared Thursday that the past and future results of games by PBA teams against guest squad Smart Gilas will now all be no-bearing.

As a result, the victories by Burger King, Talk ?N Text and Ginebra over the national team aspirants have been stricken off their respective records.

Commissioner Sonny Barrios, on instructions from the board, decided to treat the Smart Gilas games as mere exhibitions following two blowout losses by the RP team hopefuls, who didn?t get help at all from American reinforcement CJ Giles.

Giles, who is applying for naturalization so he can play for the national team, could not concentrate on his game after learning that his son is suffering from a serious ailment in the United States.

The former Los Angeles Laker played for only five minutes in the national aspirants? blowout defeat to Barangay Ginebra and came in street clothes against Talk ?N Text.