# 2007–08 Coca-Cola Tigers season

The 2007–08 Coca-Cola Tigers season was the 6th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
After JB Bailon replaced Hector Calma as manager one season ago, Mark Telan was acquired by giving up draft picks, while Joseph Yeo was traded to Sta. Lucia Realtors in exchange of Mark Isip and Cesar Catli.
In mid-season, Tigers acquired Asi Taulava from Talk 'N Text Phone Pals in exchange for Ali Peek. The move made Phone Pals the "team to beat" for the 2008 Fiesta Conference. But with that, the Tigers finished 4th place in the Fiesta Conference, but lost in the quarterfinals against Magnolia Beverage.

## Key dates

* August 19: The 2007 PBA Draft took place in Market! Market!, Taguig.

## Draft picks

Tigers did not have any draft pick, as Magnolia Beverage Masters, Air21 Express, and Sta. Lucia Realtors owned the team's draft picks because of trades.

## Records
### Philippine Cup
#### Team standings

| Pos | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants | 12 | 6 | .667 | — | Advance to semifinals |
| 2 | Sta. Lucia Realtors | 12 | 6 | .667 | — | Advance to semifinals |
| 3 | Alaska Aces | 11 | 7 | .611 | 1 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 4 | Red Bull Barako | 11 | 7 | .611 | 1 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 5 | Magnolia Beverage Masters | 10 | 8 | .556 | 2 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 6 | Talk 'N Text Phone Pals | 9 | 9 | .500 | 3 | Advance to wildcard round |
| 7 | Barangay Ginebra Kings | 8 | 10 | .444 | 4 | Advance to wildcard round |
| 8 | Air21 Express | 7 | 11 | .389 | 5 | Advance to wildcard round |
| 9 | Coca-Cola Tigers | 7 | 11 | .389 | 5 | Advance to wildcard round |
| 10 | Welcoat Dragons | 3 | 15 | .167 | 9 | |
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Purefoods 2–0 Sta. Lucia
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Alaska 1–1 Red Bull (Alaska +29)
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Air21 2–0 Coca-Cola

#### Schedule

| | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 |
| Team ╲ Game | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Air21 Express | MBM | ALA | RBB | Coke | SLR | PF | BGK | TNT | RBB | WEL | BGK | ALA | PF | TNT | Coke | MBM | WEL | SLR |
| Alaska Aces | TNT | A21 | Coke | BGK | WEL | MBM | RBB | PF | WEL | Coke | BGK | SLR | A21 | SLR | MBM | RBB | TNT | PF |
| Barangay Ginebra Kings | RBB | TNT | WEL | ALA | PF | SLR | A21 | MBM | Coke | WEL | ALA | A21 | SLR | MBM | Coke | PF | RBB | TNT |
| Coca-Cola Tigers | WEL | ALA | MBM | A21 | PF | SLR | TNT | BGK | ALA | SLR | RBB | MBM | WEL | BGK | A21 | PF | RBB | TNT |
| Magnolia Beverage Masters | A21 | SLR | PF | Coke | TNT | ALA | WEL | BGK | RBB | PF | TNT | RBB | Coke | BGK | ALA | A21 | SLR | WEL |
| Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants | SLR | TNT | MBM | WEL | BGK | Coke | A21 | RBB | ALA | SLR | MBM | TNT | WEL | A21 | BGK | Coke | ALA | RBB |
| Red Bull Barako | BGK | WEL | A21 | SLR | TNT | ALA | PF | MBM | TNT | A21 | Coke | MBM | SLR | WEL | ALA | BGK | Coke | PF |
| Sta. Lucia Realtors | PF | MBM | TNT | RBB | A21 | BGK | Coke | WEL | PF | Coke | ALA | BGK | RBB | ALA | TNT | WEL | MBM | A21 |
| Talk 'N Text Phone Pals | ALA | PF | BGK | SLR | MBM | RBB | WEL | Coke | A21 | RBB | MBM | PF | WEL | A21 | SLR | ALA | BGK | Coke |
| Welcoat Dragons | Coke | RBB | BGK | PF | ALA | TNT | MBM | SLR | ALA | BGK | A21 | PF | TNT | Coke | RBB | SLR | A21 | MBM |

#### Bracket

| Wildcard phase (single elimination) | Wildcard phase (single elimination) | Wildcard phase (single elimination) | Wildcard phase (single elimination) | Wildcard phase (single elimination) | Wildcard phase (single elimination) | Quarterfinals (best-of-3) | Quarterfinals (best-of-3) | Quarterfinals (best-of-3) | Semifinals (best-of-7) | Semifinals (best-of-7) | Semifinals (best-of-7) | Finals (best-of-7) | Finals (best-of-7) | Finals (best-of-7) |
| 6 | Talk 'N Text | 73 | | | | | | | 3 | Alaska | 3 | |
| 9 | Coca-Cola | 81 | | | | 3 | Alaska | 2 | 2 | Sta. Lucia | 4 | |
| | | | 9 | Coca-Cola | 109 | 9 | Coca-Cola | 0 | | | | | | |
| | | | 8 | Air21 | 102 | | | | | | | 2 | Sta. Lucia | 4 |
| 7 | Brgy. Ginebra | 110 | | | | | | | | | | 1 | Purefoods | 3 |
| 8 | Air21 | 119 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | 1 | Purefoods | 4 | Third place | Third place | Third place |
| | | | | | | 4 | Red Bull | 2 | 4 | Red Bull | 3 | | | |
| | | | | | | 5 | Magnolia | 0 | | 3 | Alaska | 104 |
| | | | | | | | | | | 4 | Red Bull | 125 |
* view
* talk

#### Wildcard phase
##### First round

* ABC
* January 18
* Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay

##### Second round

* ABC
* January 20
* Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay
Coca-Cola and Talk 'N Text met in the first wildcard round, with the two teams making a mid-season trade, with Asi Taulava going to the Tigers while Ali Peek and draft picks going to the Phone Pals. Coke, which had previously denied the Phone Pals of a playoff for the last quarterfinal berth by winning their last elimination round game 2 days earlier, started out strong; the Phone Pals failed to answer to the challenge as they were beaten by the #9 seeds.
Air21 on the other hand faced defending champions Barangay Ginebra Kings, which were decimated by injuries to Billy Mamaril, Mark Caguioa and personal commitments by Rudy Hatfield (Hatfield didn't return) early in the season caused several losses and they had to settle for a wildcard berth. Behind the shooting of team captain Wynne Arboleda, Air21 raced to an early lead. Ginebra cut down the deficit, but while Caguioa was on a fastbreak attempt, Niño Canaleta blocked his shot that virtually ended Ginebra's title defense.
On the final wildcard game, Arboleda wasn't able to sustain his shooting as Taulava and Mark Telan had career games to advance to the quarterfinals to face the Alaska Aces.

#### Quarterfinals
##### (3) Alaska vs. (9) Coca-Cola

Elimination round games: Alaska won both games, 117-106 and 98-94.
* ABC
* January 23
* Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay
* ABC
* January 25
Coca-Cola Tigers 100, Alaska Aces 110 :
* Alaska wins series, 2–0 ||
* Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay
Alaska ended Coca-Cola's run as the worst-seeded wildcard winner as they were eliminated by the #3 seed. Reigning Most Valuable Player Willie Miller made short work of the Tigers backcourt as Sonny Thoss overran the potent Coke frontcourt by converting outside shots.

### Fiesta Conference
#### Team standings

| Pos | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | Air21 Express | 12 | 6 | .667 | — | Advance to semifinals |
| 2 | Red Bull Barako | 11 | 7 | .611 | 1 | Advance to semifinals |
| 3 | Barangay Ginebra Kings | 10 | 8 | .556 | 2 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 4 | Coca-Cola Tigers | 10 | 8 | .556 | 2 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 5 | Magnolia Beverage Masters | 10 | 8 | .556 | 2 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 6 | Alaska Aces | 9 | 9 | .500 | 3 | Advance to wildcard round |
| 7 | Talk 'N Text Phone Pals | 9 | 9 | .500 | 3 | Advance to wildcard round |
| 8 | Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants | 8 | 10 | .444 | 4 | Advance to wildcard round |
| 9 | Sta. Lucia Realtors | 7 | 11 | .389 | 5 | Advance to wildcard round |
| 10 | Welcoat Dragons | 4 | 14 | .222 | 8 | |
* 1 2 3 Head-to-head differential: Barangay Ginebra +14, Coca-Cola +4, Magnolia −18
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Alaska 1–1 Talk 'N Text (Alaska +9)

#### Schedule

| | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 |
| Team ╲ Game | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Air21 Express | WEL | RBB | PF | Coke | TNT | ALA | BGK | SLR | Coke | MBM | BGK | RBB | SLR | ALA | TNT | WEL | MBM | PF |
| Alaska Aces | SLR | BGK | MBM | WEL | RBB | A21 | TNT | PF | Coke | RBB | TNT | PF | A21 | WEL | SLR | Coke | MBM | BGK |
| Barangay Ginebra Kings | RBB | ALA | SLR | Coke | MBM | PF | A21 | TNT | WEL | A21 | MBM | RBB | SLR | PF | Coke | TNT | WEL | ALA |
| Coca-Cola Tigers | TNT | PF | WEL | A21 | BGK | SLR | RBB | MBM | ALA | A21 | RBB | WEL | PF | TNT | BGK | MBM | ALA | SLR |
| Magnolia Beverage Masters | PF | SLR | ALA | TNT | BGK | WEL | RBB | Coke | PF | A21 | BGK | TNT | WEL | RBB | SLR | Coke | A21 | ALA |
| Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants | MBM | Coke | A21 | RBB | WEL | BGK | ALA | MBM | TNT | SLR | ALA | Coke | WEL | BGK | RBB | TNT | SLR | A21 |
| Red Bull Barako | BGK | A21 | TNT | PF | ALA | Coke | MBM | SLR | WEL | ALA | Coke | A21 | BGK | MBM | PF | WEL | TNT | SLR |
| Sta. Lucia Realtors | ALA | MBM | BGK | TNT | Coke | WEL | RBB | A21 | TNT | WEL | PF | A21 | BGK | MBM | ALA | PF | Coke | RBB |
| Talk 'N Text Phone Pals | Coke | WEL | RBB | MBM | SLR | A21 | ALA | WEL | BGK | SLR | PF | ALA | MBM | Coke | A21 | PF | BGK | RBB |
| Welcoat Dragons | A21 | TNT | Coke | ALA | PF | MBM | SLR | TNT | RBB | BGK | SLR | Coke | MBM | PF | ALA | A21 | RBB | BGK |

#### Bracket

| Wildcard phase (Single elimination) | Wildcard phase (Single elimination) | Wildcard phase (Single elimination) | Wildcard phase (Single elimination) | Wildcard phase (Single elimination) | Wildcard phase (Single elimination) | Quarterfinals (Best-of-3) | Quarterfinals (Best-of-3) | Quarterfinals (Best-of-3) | Semifinals (Best-of-7) | Semifinals (Best-of-7) | Semifinals (Best-of-7) | Finals (Best-of-7) | Finals (Best-of-7) | Finals (Best-of-7) |
| 6 | Alaska | 85 | | | | | | | 3 | Brgy. Ginebra | 4 | |
| 9 | Sta. Lucia | 99 | | | | 3 | Brgy. Ginebra | 2 | 2 | Red Bull | 0 | |
| | | | 9 | Sta. Lucia | 111 | 9 | Sta. Lucia | 0 | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | Talk 'N Text | 96 | | | | | | | 3 | Brgy. Ginebra | 4 |
| 7 | Talk 'N Text | 98 | | | | | | | | | | 1 | Air21 | 3 |
| 8 | Purefoods | 83 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | 1 | Air21 | 4 | Third place | Third place | Third place |
| | | | | | | 4 | Coca-Cola | 1 | 5 | Magnolia | 2 | | | |
| | | | | | | 5 | Magnolia | 2 | | 2 | Red Bull | 102 |
| | | | | | | | | | | 5 | Magnolia | 90 |
* view
* talk

#### Quarterfinals
##### (4) Coca-Cola vs. (5) Magnolia

* ABC
* July 13
* Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay
* ABC
* July 16
* Ynares Center, Antipolo
* ABC
* July 18
Magnolia Beverage Masters 78, Coca-Cola Tigers 60 :
* Magnolia wins series 2–1 ||
* Ynares Center, Antipolo

## Transactions
### Trades
#### Off-season

| Off-season | To Coca-Cola Tigers Mark Telan | To Air21 Express 1st round picks in the 2007 draft |
| Off-season | To Coca-Cola Tigers Mark Isip, Cesar Catli | To Sta. Lucia Realtors Joseph Yeo |
| Off-season | To Coca-Cola Tigers Mark Macapagal | To Barangay Ginebra Kings Chris Pacana |

#### Fiesta Conference

| 2008 | To Coca-Cola Tigers Asi Taulava | To Air21 Express Ali Peek |

### Additions

| Player | Signed |
| Egay Echavez | 2007 |
| Ronjay Buenafe | 2007 |
| Aries Dimaunahan | 2008 |

### Imports recruited

Italics are the imports who stayed for the rest of the conference
| Player | Debuted |
| Calvin Cage | March 4 vs. Welcoat |
| Jason Dixon | March 29 vs. Talk 'N Text |
| George Gervin, Jr. | April 13 vs. Air21 |
| Donald Copeland | May 23 vs. Red Bull |
| Brandon Dean | Coca-Cola Tigers |