That might have been the reason why his Tigers were ferocious on both ends after the break en route to a 104-83 victory over the Air21 Express last night in the Gran Matador Brandy 2006 Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

"John (Arigo) and Ali (Peek) created opportunities for their teammates. They are the leaders of this team and they showed their leadership qualities tonight," said Favis.

Arigo and Peek combined for 49 points and 20 rebounds for the Tigers. But more importantly, their imposing inside-outside presence made life easier for their teammates.

Three other Tigers scored in double figures with Billy Mamaril, Dennis Miranda and Dale Singson hitting 14, 12 and 10, respectively.

"Malaki ang roles ni Ali and John sa offense namin dahil nalilito ang kalaban kung saan magko-collapse," Favis bared.

Arigo and Peek were at their best in the second half, when the Tigers turned a close match into a rout.

The Tigers attacked the basket like hungry tigers in the third period to take control, 77-70. They went to the stripe 11 times and hit 10 on that stretch to underscore their aggressive stance.

"It’s our effort that allowed us to score more than 100," noted Favis. "The Express did well defensively but we kept on attacking them."

Four Tigers were already in double figures after three periods led by Arigo’s 19. The lead swelled to 88-75 on successive slams from Rafi Reavis and Peek and the Express failed to trim the gap to less than 10 points the rest of the way.

It was the worst defeat of Express coach Bo Perasol. His previous biggest losing margin was 18, a 91-109 loss to the Talk ’N Text Phone Pals.

The defense of the most feared offensive team in the league made the difference in the first half.

The Express, the most prolific team in the Fiesta Conference with 97.3 points per game, forced the Tigers to 10 turnovers in the first two periods and turned those to 15 points. They led by as many as eight at the backstretch of the second period on a basket by Ritualo, 49-41.

But the Tigers closed in at 49-53 at halftime to set up their strong finish.

In the featured match, Alaska Milk waltzed past San Miguel Beer, 103-90.