Phoenix sends Magnolia crashing for 3rd win in row
THE Phoenix Fuel Masters raced to their third win in a row at the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup after beating the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok, 95-82, on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Showing collective poise and grit, the Fuel Masters took the challenge that the Hotshots gave and successfully ground it out to book their third straight victory in the season-ending PBA tournament and improve to a 5-1 winloss card while handing Magnolia (2-1) its first defeat.
The Fuel Masters started aggressively, following the lead of import Eugene Phelps.
Phoenix built a 15-7 lead by the 6:18 mark of the first quarter.
It continued to hold off Magnolia for the remainder of the period, eventually establishing a 30-19 advantage at the end of the first 12 minutes.
In the second period, Ian Sangalang and import Romeo Travis got the Hotshots offense going, towing their team to within five points, 34-29, with three and half minutes lapsing.
Phoenix adjusted behind Mr. Phelps, extending its lead anew to double-digits, 42-39, at the 5:52 mark.
Magnolia, however, was not to be denied a charge back.
Messrs. Travis and Sangalang, along with guard Jio Jalalon, willed their team back, levelling the count at 46-all with 58 ticks left.
Mr. Phelps handed back the lead to the Fuel Masters off two free throws, 48-46, with 32 seconds left only to be answered by Mr. Jalalon with two freebies of his own 13 seconds later to force a stalemate at the end of the first half, 48-all.
The two teams jockeyed for position to start the third quarter, looking to seize the momentum as the second fold unravelled.
The count stood at 59-57 in favor of Phoenix midway into the frame.
Phoenix tried to create some distance after only to be countered by Magnolia, forcing them to get tangled at 64-all with less than three minutes remaining.
A 7-3 run to finish the quarter gave the Fuel Masters a 71-67 lead after 36 minutes of play.
Phoenix took off from where it left in the third to start the final canto.
Led by Mr. Phelps and LA Revilla, the Fuel Masters went on an11-5 run to hold an 82-72 advantage with 5:30 left on the clock.
Magnolia attempted to fashion out a comeback led by Aldrech Ramos but Mr. Phelps, Matthew Wright and Calvin Abueva would not allow Phoenix to have any slippage and had their eyes on a winning finish.
The Fuel Masters held an 87-80 lead entering the last two minutes and stayed ahead on their way to booking the streak-extending victory.
Mr. Phelps had 36 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks for Phoenix while Matthew Wright and Justin Chua added 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Mr. Abueva, meanwhile, had nine points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
Mr. Travis, meanwhile, led Magnolia with 28 points and 19 rebounds.
Messrs. Sangalang and Jalalon and Mark Barroca each had 11 points.
“Finally, we got to beat Magnolia, which I believe is one of the top defensive teams in the league. We got to hold them down,” said Phoenix coach Louie Alas in the postmatch press conference.
“At 5-1 we’re doing okay but we cannot rest and we have to continue winning games,” he added.