SMART CLARK GIGA CITY — Most of the time, don’t fix what isn’t broken, right?
But when facing a team as decorated as Magnolia, Phoenix Super LPG has to think out of the box despite its twice-to-beat advantage.
And who better than Fuel Masters assistant coach Jamike Jarin to concoct a mad experiment.
The experiment? Turn Matthew Wright, their ace, into their sixth man.
“That idea was coming from Coach Jamike. He said, ‘Coach, why not? Pwede natin di i-start si Matt’,” bared head coach Topex Robinson.
During the entire elimination round, the 6-foot-4 Filipino-Canadian sniper started all 11 games. And Jarin reinforced that idea as Calvin Abueva embraced his role as the Fuel Masters’ sixth man.
But come the playoffs, all eyes are on Wright, who has been putting up numbers of 22.82 points, 6.00 assists, and 5.4 rebounds in 40 minutes of action.
“I know that Magnolia will prepare when Matt is inside, so I kind of messed up ‘yung rotation namin,” quipped Robinson.
And the 29-year-old Wright was in on it as well.
“Matt was all in on that idea, which is important sa amin because again, our best player sacrificed that starting position. And the thing is he doesn’t even know if it’s going to work,” continued the youthful mentor.
It did wonders.
Wright entered the game four minutes into the opening frame. And he was on fire the entire contest.
And in the clutch, Wright still looked fresh.
Down by one with less than 10 seconds left, the product of St. Bonaventure fired a cold-blooded triple to send Magnolia packing.
Wright ended up with 32 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. More importantly, the Fuel Masters have made it to the Final Four.
“Walang guarantee, but he bought in. And again, you’ll never go wrong if you believe in something, and everybody believes in that something.”
