Roaring Tigers make history on Christmas

Call it a Christmas Day massacre.

Coca-Cola demolished Alaska Milk last night as the amazing Tigers completed a big rout of the Aces, running away with the Selecta PBA All-Filipino Cup crown before a huge Christmas crowd at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Tigers walloped the Aces, 78-63, on a swashbuckling second-half assault and made history as they became the first team to win a championship right in their first season in the league.

"This is big, this is big," said coach Chot Reyes as his brave bunch of players hacked out what had looked like an improbable feat at the start with four key Tigers sidelined by injuries.

"The first time is always special. But this is big considering the fact that hardly anybody thought we could do this," said Reyes on his third championship following triumphs with the Purefoods Hotdogs in the 1993 All-Filipino and 1994 Commissioner’s Cup.

He later bared that the team made a "sacred vow" at the very start to carve a Cinderella finish in the league. "That’s our compelling reason, our sacred vow. We wanted to write history," he said.

Four past teams which made it to the PBA finals in their rookie year lost their respective title bid – Filmanbank to Toyota in 1978, Shell to Great Taste in 1985, Purefoods to Anejo Rhum in 1988 and Tanduay to Shell in 1999.

Reyes also achieved a personal feat by becoming only the sixth coach to win championships with different teams after Baby Dalupan (Crispa, Great Taste and Purefoods), Tommy Manotoc (Utex, San Miguel and Crispa), Norman Black (San Miguel and Sta. Lucia) and Yeng Guiao (Swift and Red Bull).

Rudy Hatfield dished out a near double-double game with 20 points and nine assists to lead the Tigers in their title-clinching victory. The Fil-Am forward was named Finals MVP.

But surely, there was a handful of Tigers who rose to the occasion last night.

Poch Juinio, Rafi Reavis and Ato Morano had a big hand in the victory completing what could be remembered as the biggest reversal in league history.

The Tigers pulled off a three-game-to-one win in the series as they also scored a 72-69 win in overtime in Game Two and 62-60 decision also in OT in Game Three.

As in Game Three, Coca-Cola jumped the gun on Alaska at the start but the Aces made it close by making their own fiery run in the second quarter.

Losing an early nine-point spread on a furious Alaska second quarter attack anchored on Rodney Santos, the Tigers settled for a 37-33 lead at the turn as Morano, Reavis, Hatfield and Leo Avenido scored a basket each against a lone Alaska twinner in the final three minutes of the opening half.

The Aces seized the lead at 31-29 as they held the Tigers to only two points while making nine of their own in the first six minutes of nth second quarter.

Pocho Juinio came out smoking, firing 10 points in the first canto, including two booming three-pointers.