DRAGONS KEEPING ‘EM AT BAY

Games today (Smart Araneta Coliseum) 4:30 p.m. – Rain or Shine vs Terrafirma 6:45 p.m. – Meralco vs Barangay Ginebra

Under the gun early, the Bay Area Dragons spewed fire and racked up 19 unanswered points against Phoenix in the period bridging the last six minutes of the second quarter and the opening minute of the third.

That lopsided exchange turned out to be the game-changer as the Dragons turned the tables on the hot-starting Fuel Masters and won their heated PBA Commissioner ’s Cup duel, 101-91, yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

From a 41-25 hole, the guest team from Hong Kong deftly climbed back and wrested control, leading by 19 at one point, 89-70, and not looking back.

It was the third straight win for solo leader Bay Area, which previously demolished Blackwater by 46 points then edged NorthPort by one on a buzzer-beating trey by Myles Powell.

“I was really disappointed at the start of the game. We’re a step off, reaching fouls, giving them a lot of baskets on penetration and transition. But midway in the second quarter and the rest of the game, I thought we did a good job defensively and locked them up,” said coach Brian Goorjian.

Tension filled the game with 26.4 seconds left in the third when a fuming Phoenix coach Topex Robinson had to be pacified by team and game officials as he tried to go after Powell.

Robinson apparently had enough of Powell’s “disrespectful behavior” against the Fuel Masters bench. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and the game proceeded without further incidents. Robinson and Powell, who were each slapped with a technical foul, hugged and apologized to each other after the game.

“It’s just everyone out there just wanting to win, being competitive. He came up to me and apologized, I apologized back, no hard feelings,” said Powell.

Later, Magnolia rallied past Converge, 109-105, using a 38-21 finishing kick to wipe out a 14-point deficit en route to its second win and a share of second at 2-0. The FiberXers slipped to 1-1.

The Scores: First Game Bay Area 101 – Powell 32, Blankley 15, Yang 14, Reid 14, Zhu 8, Liu 8, Lam 6, Liang 4, Ju 0, Zheng 0.

Phoenix 91 – Mocon 22, Tio 21, Wesson 17, Jazul 10, Anthony 8, Lojera 6, Robles 4, Serrano 3, Adamos 0, Pascual 0, Garcia 0, Muyang 0, Rios 0, Lalalta 0, Camacho 0. Quarterscores: 16-29, 42-41, 74-61, 101-91 Second Game Magnolia 109 – Rakocevic 21, Lee 20, Barroca 19, Jalalon 15, Sangalang 10, Abueva 10, Dionisio 8, Corpuz 2, Wong 2, Reavis 2, Dela Rosa 0.

Converge 105 – Miller 38, Arana 14, Ilagan 12, Teng 11, Ahanmisi 9, Tratter 8, Murrell 6, Stockton 5, Melecio 2, Racal 0, Hill 0, Ambohot 0.

Quarterscores: 24-24, 40-50, 71-84, 109-105

Tyler Tio of Phoenix tries to cut loose from Ju Mingxin of Bay Area during last night’s game at the Big Dome.