PBA Opening March 29. 2008 @ Panabo, davao del Norte.....TNT vs. Coke
Asi, Chot meet former teams in Fiesta Cup opener
Asi Taulava will have an early return bout with his former team. Chot Reyes will meet the squad he led to two championships. Both are bracing for a grand debut in the opener of the PBA Fiesta Cup. The Coca-Cola Tigers take on the Talk N Text Phone Pals in Panabo City, Davao del Norte on Saturday, March 29, one of the rare times the league will not open on a Sunday.
The two teams slug it out at 4:30 p.m.
With two reinforcements backing him up, the loads won't be as heavy as usual for the man called as The Rock. It will be a return bout for the two teams which figured in the wildcard phase of the tournament.
Although both teams have yet to name their imports, the match-up between the local players -- as well as the coaches -- look interesting.
This will be a refreshing start for Reyes, who will face the squad he steered to titles in 2002 and 2003. Those championships he won served as his ticket to be named as head coach of the RP men's basketball team that competed in the Olympic-qualifying tournament in Japan last year.
Another interesting aspect is how Reyes will react on his game plan considering that he is up with one of his proteges, Binky Favis.
Favis worked as scout and deputy to Reyes in Coca-Cola before the former was installed as coach.
Reyes took over the job from Derick Pumaren, whose contract was not renewed by the Phone Pals' management. How the fiery Atenean can bring out the best from Jimmy Alapag and Ren-Ren Ritualo, his two players with the RP team, remains to be seen.
The Phone Pals also have an abundance of talent in Ali Peek, Jay Washington, Don Allado, Mac Cardona, Yancy de Ocampo and Harvey Carey.
Meanwhile, Taulava has been practically doing it all when he came to the Tigers' den. He is expected to get a lot of support this time from the two imports.