Before every one gets in a tizzy over the title of this issue’s column let me just make it clear that I refer to the PBA team and not recreational pharmaceuticals. Given how well the Coca Cola Tigers have done so far in the PBA Fiesta Cup though, I wouldn’t be surprised if Tigers fans are feeling the same kind of high as the more well-off tipplers of Colombia’s finest export.

As a PBA franchise Coca Cola has been one of those roller coaster teams, having known the exhilaration of championships and the doldrums of being cellar dwellers. Every team goes through its peaks and valleys of course, and Coca Cola has not been spared that ride. Under the mentorship of Vincent “Chot” Reyes they were quite formidable, winning titles featuring a corps of stars led by the H Bomb Rudy Hatfield and do-it-all forward-center Rafi Reavis a couple years ago. Reyes had put together a system that emphasized tight team defense and maximized the superb athletic gifts of Hatfield and Reavis.

After that the franchise fell on some hard times. Hatfield and Reavis are no longer with the Tigers. Both players were on-again and off-again on the Immigration Bureau’s most wanted list of players suspected of having been less than forthcoming about their Filipino roots. Reyes for his part became involved full time with the national team as head coach and is now with the Talk N Text Phone Pals.

But there is much to be hopeful about this time around. Coach Binky Favis has assembled a team that is once again enjoying the game of basketball and is currently running second in the team standings behind league leader Air 21. Yes, it looks like the hard luck franchises are now enjoying their time in the sun and Coca Cola is riding that train as far as it will go. They traded Ali Peek to get former MVP Asi Taulava last conference and that is paying off handsomely. In the draft they got Ron Jason Buenafe, a 6-foot-2 swingman who is playing like a 10-year veteran.

Coke’s newfound resurgence can be attributed to the plays of these two, but also to the superb play of their frontline. The 6-foot-10 Taulava leads the league in rebounding with 14.2 boards per game; he leads in total rebounds on both the defensive and offensive boards. Two of his teammates are among the Top 10 of the boards as well: 6-foot-7 Nic Belasco is the league’s second best rebounder with 13.6 rebounds per game, while 6-foot-7 Mark Telan is fifth overall with 10.8 rebounds per game.

All of this superior board work is giving the Tigers something they had in the salad days of yore: transition fuel for fastbreaks and easy scores plus second and third opportunities on offense. With the three big men ruling the inside the perimeter can take more chances and thus have more freedom to pile up the points. Buenafe is a superb shooter and slasher who has become even more productive thanks to the knowledge that his big men have his back should he miss or misread on a gamble. Taulava and Belasco are also fifth and eighth respectively in total points scored as well as total minutes played.

Alex Cabagnot, Aris Dimaunahan, John Arigo and another former MVP Kenneth Duremdes, join Buenafe to form a potent perimeter rotation that can take advantage of the superb work of the bigs underneath. Cabagnot is among the league leaders in steals and assists and runs the Tigers offense with intelligence and guile. Dimaunahan is a valuable combo-guard who is underrated. Arigo, although sometimes noted as a headcase, can fill it up from long range and on the wings with his superb athleticism and speed. Duremdes isn’t showing signs of slowing down in spite of being on the business side of 35 years; he provides the veteran savvy and calming influence on the relatively young Tiger guards.

These Tigers are definitely for real and the rest of the league better watch it. As far as the Fiesta Cup goes, it seems Coke is it.