MANILA -- Coca-Cola snapped a three-game losing streak with a 93-79 come-from-behind win over Purefoods Tender Juicy Friday night in the KFC-Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

Alex Cabagnot hit a crucial three-pointer at the top of the key in the closing minutes then fed Wesley Gonzales at deep left corner for the insurance triple to help the Tigers nail their first win after three straight losses.

“The players refused to lose tonight even though we’re struggling,” said Coke head coach Kenneth Duremdes, who also drew 15 markers from veteran center Dennis Espino.

“Nagkaroon sila ng sense of urgency na kailangan, you have to play your best every time no matter what happens at ganoon nga ang nangyari,” he added.

Coke was still trailing after Purefoods center Don Allado hit a jumper for a 73-69 advantage. But the Tigers, behind Dale Singson and Wesley Gonzales, responded with an 11-0 burst to grab the lead, 80-73, with 4:18 left in the game.

The Giants then went to James Yap and Kerby Raymundo and the two superstars shoved their team within four, 78-82, a little over two minutes remaining.

Then Cabagnot received a kicked out pass from Dennis Espino at the top of the key and buried the three-pointer to give Coke some breather, 85-78, 1:50 left in the game clock.

Purefoods, which fell to 2-2, missed its next two three-point attempts as Cabagnot completed his heroics by throwing a pass to Wesley Gonzales who scored a triple to seal the win for the Tigers with 47 ticks remaining.

Norman Gonzales led Coke with 17 points highlighted by 3-of-5 shooting from the three-point zone.

Yap led the Giants with 15 points. Raymundo, Canaleta and Maierhofer finished with 13, 12 and 11 markers respectively for coach Ryan Gregorio.

Josh burns Whopper

Sta. Lucia Realty found an unlikely hero in Josh Urbiztondo in beating Burger King, 101-93, to grab a share of second spot with Barangay Ginebra and defending champion Talk ‘N Text.

Undrafted in the last rookie draft, the 5’9 Urbiztondo fired a career-high 24 points, 15 came in the first half where the Realtors seized the momentum of the match and took a 54-40 lead going to the break.

Sta. Lucia padded the lead to 17 points, 75-58, before the Whopper made a serious run in the fourth and threatened at 83-87 on Ronjay Buenafe’s string of points.

But Ryan Reyes, who finished with 15, led a crucial 7-2 swing for a 94-85 spread and even if Burger King came close again at 93-97 on Gary David’s triple, Kelly Williams sealed with back-to-back baskets for the final score.

David led the Whopper with 23 points while Buenafe added 17 markers for coach Yeng Guiao, whose wards dropped to 2-3.

Dennis Daa chipped in 15 points, 11 came in the first half. Williams, who was nursing a groin injury, still contributed 14 markers for coach Boyet Fernandez.

Sta. Lucia now has a 3-1 win-loss mark.