Phoenix armed itself with an old reliable in an attempt to upend Bol Bol and TNT as its playoff push continues in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup on Friday.
Done with James Dickey III, the Fuel Masters have called Johnathan Williams back, with the goal, of course, to make a serious bid to reach the quarterfinals now that they’re entering their last three games in the elimination round.
As it stands, Coach Charles Tiu & Co. are sitting at No. 6 with a 5-4 card and are a few games behind the Tropang 5G, who are at fourth with a 6-3 slate.
The squad got to that record following a 130-103 rout at the hands of Donovan Smith and Converge last Sunday, where Dickey sat out due to an ankle injury.
Needless to say, Phoenix would want to cause a major shakeup in the standings, and that starts against the defending conference champions, whom they will be facing at 5:15 p.m. to open the league’s twin-bill Labor Day special.
There’s renewed confidence within the camp with the return of Williams, who steered the franchise to only its third semifinal appearance during the 2023-24 Commissioner’s Cup, eventually bagging home Best Import honors.
The former NBA pro averaged 24.5 points, 16.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.6 blocks across 17 games during that stint, and definitely, that kind of production is expected from him once more in his second tour of duty in the PBA.
As excited as they are, the Fuel Masters are aware as well of what awaits the crew: a TNT side eyeing a Top Four finish–a bid it revived following a 119-112 win over Macau to bounce back from a loss to the Mikey Williams prior.
Then there’s also the challenge of guarding the 7-foot-3 beanpole in Bol, who’s undeniably been a dominant force in the midseason tournament thus far.
TNT is favored to win via a -7.5 point margin, according to Casino Plus sportsbook.
Bets can be placed here: https://www.casinoplus.com.ph/home/inGame?name=basketball&title=SportBet.
Taking the Big Dome floor at the 7:30 p.m. main event, meanwhile, would be Barangay Ginebra and Meralco in another duel between rivals.
Momentum is on the side of the Kings, as they’re coming into the marquee matchup riding a five-game winning streak, which has also enabled the traditional contenders to assure themselves a spot in the quarters.
In fact, they even joined NLEX at No. 2 in the standings briefly until the Road Warriors escaped Rain or Shine to take the provisional lead, but remain in a solid spot as the crowd darlings are currently at solo third with a 7-2 record.
Coach Tim Cone & Co. are indeed picking it up after a shaky start in the conference, in which they lost twice in their first four outings.
Then came that 91-89 win against Magnolia in another Manila Clasico affair, marking the start of what is presently the hottest streak in the league thus far.
Now, they’re eyeing a Top Four finish to equip themselves with a win-once incentive in the playoffs’ opening round, and the team could strengthen their bid should they take care of business against the Bolts of Coach Luigi Trillo.
But Meralco itself is hoping to keep its hopes alive, too, having lost its last two outings–first to NLEX, and then to San Miguel. Both games witnessed the squad lose hold of big leads, causing a dent to their confidence as a whole.
Due to their skid, the Bolts have fallen to fifth with a 5-3 record, making their four remaining games crucial in their aim of returning to the Top Four discussion.
And the odds show that the game is basically a coin flip with Ginebra favored to win by just -1.5 points. The over/under is set at 206.0, according to Casino Plus sportsbook. 
