Amazing Tigers win in OT

Two words — discipline and intensity — and a picture of a battered teammate were splashed on the board in the Coca-Cola dugout before the game.

That was all coach Chot Reyes needed to draw out the best from the Tigers ,and his badly crippled team responded with might, dishing out an stirring performance to pull off a kingsize 72-69 overtime win over Alaska Milk in Game Two of their Selecta PBA All-Filipino Cup best-of-five title playoff at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

"I wanted the team to be very aggressive and intense and play a disciplined game because we thought that’s the mix we would need to win the game," said Reyes after his Tigers hacked the shocking win to tie the series at one-game all.

"I can honestly say that every possession for us out there was an adventure. Hindi namin alam kung saan kukunin ang puntos. Unlike kung nandiyan si Johnny (Abarrientos) at Jeffrey (Cariaso)," Reyes added.

In fact, the picture of an injured Abarrientos was tacked on the board of the team’s dugout to fire up the Tigers.

Ato Morano provided the needed points Coca-Cola was looking for at crunchtime, and the Tigers made what seemed to be an unbelievable feat, beating the Aces minus four key players.

In Game Three tomorrow, the Tigers have a chance to seize the lead in the series with Cariaso expected to return to action. Cariaso was earlier named Best Player of the Conference before last night’s game.

Minus Abarrientos, Morano, a former MBA star, played his best game in the PBA, firing 23 points, including eight in overtime. He also piled up nine rebounds, one assist and one steal.

Morano canned two free throws off a foul by Rob Duat, giving Coca-Cola enough breathing room at 72-69 with time down to 10 seconds.

The Aces eventually lost the game as Duat missed a baseline jumper and a three-point attempt in the closing seconds.

"I can’t say enough of Morano. He’s the best lowest-paid and the best underrated player in the league," said Reyes.

But there’s no question that several other Tigers played a key role in the game. There was rookie Leo Avenido who alternated with Morano at the point and contributed 10 points, two steals and one assist. There’s Rafi Reavis who chipped in 10 points and six rebounds while playing hurt. And there were William Antonio and Rudy Hatfield who came up with the usual crucial numbers.

The Tigers even found a chance to win the game right in regulation but Duat blocked an attempt by Morano at the buzzer.

Abandoning their run-and-gun offense for a deliberate game, the Tigers kept the Aces from pulling away in the first half as they even grabbed a 25-21 lead in the second quarter.