Matthew Wright was at a loss for words on Wednesday night, moments after he and the Phoenix Fuel Masters absorbed a sour 94-106 loss to defending Commissioner’s Cup champions San Miguel Beermen.
The Fuel Masters were just 4:27 minutes away from bagging the win with an 88-86 lead, until the Beermen spoiled their plans with a 17-1 scoring blitz en route to a 103-89 lead — the run that totally extinguished Phoenix.
The win is San Miguel’s first in the mid-season conference after three games, — a fact rather difficult for Phoenix to fathom, as they feel like they have become the springboard for Beermen en route to their breakthrough victory.
“It was like they finally jelled today after three games,” rued the Filipino-Canadian sniper.
“It looked like they finally got into rhythm and got used to each other. They’re a good team. There’s nothing we can really do about that.”
Wright is rather accurate with his thoughts. Five players finished in double figures for San Miguel, with import Renaldo Balkman leading the pack with 35 points on top of 17 rebounds, four assists, four blocks, and two steals.
Christian Standhardinger also made his presence felt with 18 points and seven rebounds. Local stars Arwind Santos and Alex Cabagnot chimed in 13 points apiece, and sharpshooter Marcio Lassiter contributed 12 markers.
It was simply a case of wrong timing for Phoenix, to say the least. But for Wright, who had 17 points and seven boards in the loss, they have to put this one behind them and shift their sights on their next games at the tail-end of the eliminations.
“We just have to forget about this game. We have to have amnesia, and come back,” Wright quipped. “We have a back-to-back against Meralco and Kia that we have to go 2-and-0, so that’s gonna be our main focus.
“We have like eight days off, I know I’m gonna enjoy this break, so we’re just gonna come back with the same focus.”
