Last Wednesday night, in Phoenix Fuel Masters’ loss to the Meralco Bolts at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum, nobody from both squads had a more forgettable night than Fuel Masters veteran point guard RJ Jazul.
In the 81-66 defeat that dropped them to 3-5, the 31-year-old floor general, an acquisition from Alaska Aces via trade last March, was truly non-existent. He played 36:30 minutes, but only shot 1-of-13 and finished with just seven points.
Jazul’s stats would make anyone wince. But luckily for him, the Fuel Masters played their second game in three days Friday evening against Globalport Batang Pier — giving him a chance to redeem himself from that poor outing.
“Ayun yung maganda. Back to back games eh. So shorter yung break. You have the chance to redeem yourself na madalian,” shared Jazul.
Keeping true to his word, the seven-year veteran did what he aimed. Jazul turned up on offense with 21 points on a decent 8-of-16 shooting and helped the Phoenix to a win over the Batang Pier, 84-72, to post their fourth victory.
In addition, Jazul’s 21-point outburst serves as his best game yet in a Phoenix uniform.
It was truly redemption done right by the one-time champion. And for Jazul, who was averaging 9.25 points prior to Friday, the optimism he had injected to himself did wonders, as he had not let that dismal Wednesday night get the best of him.
“Fortunately, nagbunga yung positive mindset,” proudly shared the 11th overall pick by the Aces back in the 2010 Draft.
“I had a talk with my wife. Sabi niya okay lang yan, ituloy-ituloy mo lang yung positive mindset.”
With his exploits, the Fuel Masters now improved to 4-5. Furthermore, they are now in a good place as they keep their playoff dreams alive, and Jazul hopes that Phoenix will play their best basketball to attain their goal.
“We have to play better if we want to make the playoffs talaga,” said Jazul.
