Phoenix Pulse are finally in the series, staying steady against the San Miguel Beermen to take a 92-90 in Game 3 of their 2019 PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinal series, Sunday night at SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Fuel Masters wasted their 16-5 start to the match, but Matthew Wright’s heroics down the stretch – plus Lady Luck on their side – were all enough to bring down the Beermen and to snare their first-ever semis victory.
“Buhay pa,” exhaled Phoenix head coach Louie Alas.
Calvin Abueva set the pace for Phoenix with 18 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, and two steals despite a foul-plagued outing. Wright finished with 18 markers as well with three rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block.
The Fuel Masters lost good leads throughout the match, including a favorable 80-73 advantage with 6:45 left in the final frame as the Beermen fought back. San Miguel even tied the game at 86-all with only 1:30 remaining in the game.
Fortunately for the semis first-timers, Wright did not waste all of his trips to the charity stripe. He sank all of his six free throws inside the last 49.6 seconds to give the Fuel Masters a 92-88 edge with 21.1 seconds on the clock.
Chris Ross’ lay-up just seconds after Wright’s foul shots made it a two-point game. Then San Miguel had a glimmer of hope as Phoenix’s JC Intal botched both of his freebies with 15.4 seconds left to play.
Luckily for Phoenix, Ross’ attempt to win it for San Miguel by way of a three-pointer failed. Von Pessumal grabbed the offensive board, but his fade-away jumper with the clock winding missed as well.
“I have to commend them for their resiliency,” Alas lauded. “And si Matt, grabe yan tatlong araw nang may sakit yan eh. Kaya kita niyo ginagamit ko sparingly lang. Ang ano ko lang, sana ‘wag lumala yung bronchitis niya.”
Justin Chua had 15 points and seven rebounds, while RJ Jazul made 14 markers and eight boards in the win.
June Mar Fajardo had 22 points and 19 rebounds with two blocks to lead the defending four-time All-Filipino champs Beermen, who missed the services of Marcio Lassiter due to back issues. Lassiter was in uniform, though.
Alex Cabagnot had 18 points, six assists, and four rebounds. Meanwhile, Terrence Romeo and Christian Standhardinger provided 16 markers apiece, with the Filipino-German forward adding 10 rebounds, an assist, and a steal.
Game Four of the highly-physical series will be on Tuesday, April 23, at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.
The Scores:
Phoenix 92 – Abueva 18, Wright 18, Chua 15, Jazul 14, Perkins 8, Intal 8, Kramer 5, Revilla 4, Mallari 2, Napoles 0, Mendoza 0, Dennison 0, Guevarra 0.
San Miguel 90 – Fajardo 22, Cabagnot 18, Romeo 16, Standhardinger 16, Ross 8, Pessumal 3, Santos 3, Rosser 2, Nabong 2, Zamar 0, Tubid 0.
Quarterscores: 21-19, 40-36, 64-66, 92-90.
