Redemption for Phoenix?

Phoenix coach Jamike Jarin isn’t thinking about the 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals where the Super LPG Fuel Masters blew a twice-tobeat advantage and lost to Meralco in a meltdown that was capped by an overtime setback.

Now, Jarin finds himself in a similar situation but instead of conjuring visions of a tailspin, he’s aiming for redemption. Phoenix had several chances to boot do-or-die Meralco out of contention in their first playoff match-up last Wednesday. With 7:30 left in the fourth period, the Fuel Masters led by 15, 77-62, and looked headed for the semis. Then came Meralco’s fightback, finishing regulation with a 22-7 blast. Before the fourth frame ended, Phoenix was on top, 84-81, with eight ticks left and Meralco’s possession. Jarin had the option of giving up the foul to put the Bolts on the line for two free throws since it would take a three to force OT. But the foul never came and the ball went to Chris Newsome who drained a triple at the buzzer.

In the first OT, Phoenix import Johnathan Williams missed two layups as time ran out and a conversion would’ve iced the contest. In the second OT, Williams was at the line with eight seconds to go and flubbed both free throws. Meralco had no timeout left and went the length of the court for Aaron Black to miss a floater at the horn. In the third OT, Phoenix had little gas left and Meralco held on to win, 116-107. The Bolts dominated the boards, 65-51, and scored more points in the paint, 52-36, fastbreak points, 10-0, second chance points, 29-10, and bench points, 57-21. What led to Phoenix’ downfall was poor free-throw shooting as the Fuel Masters missed 14, 10 by Williams, and lost by nine.

Williams badly needs lessons in stroking the ball from the stripe. In college, he shot .577 from the line. In the GLeague, it was .445. And with the LA Lakers and Washington in the NBA, his clip was .566. In the Italian league in 2021-22, Williams hit .494 and in the EuroCup that season, .429. In the PBA, imports can’t be miserable from the line. They’re targets for fouls and if they’re shaky from the stripe, the more their defenders will hack. In today’s battle against Meralco, Williams can’t afford to miss more foul shots than he makes.

Phoenix has lost three of its last four while Meralco has won three of its last four. Bolts coach Luigi Trillo unraveled a platoon of heroes last Wednesday with Bong Quinto leading the charge to score 14 of his 19 points in the three OTs. Newsome, Black, Allein Maliksi, Cliff Hodge and import Shonn Miller had their moments. Nothing is more exciting than a winner-take-all showdown.