INQUIRER Sports

BURGER KING SNAPPED OUT of a three-game slide by breaking away in the fourth quarter to turn back Coca-Cola, 106-97, in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

?We?re not giving up in this conference,? coach Yeng Guiao told scribes. ?We?re just trying to get out of the cellar and see what happens after that.?

?It?s hard to break out of a slump,? he continued. ?After the Japeth (Aguilar) and Wynne (Arboleda) incidents, we will still struggle. All we want is to regain our confidence because that is the thing we need to get out of this losing streak.?

Burger King threw away a 19-point lead in the first quarter and needed the heroics of Mark Yee in the fourth period to notch win No. 2 in seven games.

Yee scored all but two of his 19 points in the payoff frame, highlighted by a 3-of-3 clip from beyond the arc.

Coca-Cola took a second straight loss and dropped to 1-5 overall, just one game better than cellar-dwelling Rain or Shine.

Ronjay Buenafe also finished with 19, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:51 left which broke the game?s last tie at 96, before Gary David finished off the Tigers with four straight points in a 28-second span for 103-97, 47 seconds to go.

Coca-Cola trailed, 2-21 after going 1-for-11 in the first 7:36. But the Tigers clawed their way back into the fight and even took a 44-43 lead in the waning seconds of the first half.

The Tigers even took an 80-72 lead with 11:00 left after Alex Cabagnot, who finished with 20 points, buried a triple from deep right corner.

JR Quinahan tied the game at 93 with a short jumper with 4:09 left before the Whoppers connected at will.

BURGER KING 106?M. Yee 19, Buenafe 19, David 17, Belga 15, Quinahan 9, Matias 7, Sharma 7, Lanete 5, R. Yee 5, Bilones 2, Williams 1, Aban 0.

COCA-COLA 97?Cabagnot 20, Espino 15, Cruz 12, Rodriguez 11, Gonzales 11, Bono 6, Ross 2, Rizada 1, Calimag 1, Macapagal 0.
Quarters: 29-20, 46-45, 70-75, 106-97