Mahindra edges Phoenix in PBA return to pad QF bid
IT WAS a winning return for the Mahindra Floodbuster in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup yesterday, beating the Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters, 122121, in overtime to notch their third win in 10 games and keep their quarterfinal hopes alive.
Playing for the first time after the local pro league took a week- long break to give way to the country’s staging of the Southeast Asian Basketball Men’s Championship, Mahindra got a solid output from its backcourt to keep the door ajar for a possible entry into the next round of the mid- season PBA tournament by the backside.
Mahindra had to dig deep throughout the match to keep in step and eventually snatch the win from Phoenix for the all-important win.
The two teams fought tooth and nail in the opening half, engaging in runs and counterruns and with momentum swinging back and forth.
The Fuel Masters held a three-point lead, 30-27, at the end of the first period before surviving a surge by Mahindra in the second period, that saw the Floodbuster temporarily seize the lead, to continue to hold the advantage by halftime, 62-58.
In the third period, the Floodbuster went on another strong run to start things behind Reden Celda and LA Revilla, outscoring Phoenix, 20- 9, to overtake the latter and establish its biggest lead of nine points, 80-71, in the contest with 6: 44 left in the quarter.
Gelo Alolino, however, would not allow Phoenix to lose much ground, leading a late-half rally in the third period to enable his team to tie the knot at 93-all in the end.
With the outcome of the match still up for grabs, the two squads jostled to get the momentum in the opening minutes of the fourth period.
Phoenix held a two-point lead, 103-101, with eight minutes left in the contest.
The protagonists held each other in a slugfest in the next six minutes with the score tied at 112 with 1: 35 left in the clock after a triple from Mahindra’s Revilla.
Mark Borboran put Phoenix up by two after an under goal stab but Mahindra leveled the scored anew with Mr. Revilla hitting two free throws.
Mr. Borboran once again was on the firing end to help Phoenix reclaim the lead anew, 116-114, with 45 seconds to go.
Mr. Revilla tied the score with 30 seconds left.
Both teams had a chance to win the game but failed to score in the chances afforded them in regulation as time expired.
Phoenix and Mahindra continued their nip-and-tuck affair in the extra period, not budging every bit.
The Fuel Masters held a one-point lead, 121-120, with 40 seconds left in the match but Mahindra took the lead, 122-121, with a Celda looping shot with 21 seconds remaining.
Two missed free throws by Mr. Revilla after opened the door for Phoenix but the latter could not take advantage of it en route to slumping to the loss.
Mr. Revilla showed the way for Mahindra with 26 points, four rebounds and five assists.
Mr. Celda, named player of the game, finished with 25 points while import Keith Wright had 18 points and 21 rebounds.
Phoenix was led by import Jameel McKay with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
“LA I’m lost for words to describe his performance. He carried us in this game and his heart was incredible,” said Mahindra coach Chris Gavina after their win.
“The crisis we experienced early in the tournament with all the losses is paving the way for a bright future for us,” he added.
Mahindra (3-7) plays the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings (5-2) on June 2 while Phoenix (4-6) still has one game left against the already-eliminated NLEX Road Warriors (0-9) on May 27.