When the Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters won over Magnolia Hotshots in their elimination round encounter in the 2019 PBA Philippine Cup, franchise player Matthew Wright said that his team is “for real.”
“I’m really happy. I think we’re for real,” said the Fil-Canadian guard after their 89-87 win over Magnolia last March 7. It was their eighth win in nine games, moving them to the cusp of clinching a twice-to-beat edge for the quarterfinals.
Exactly a month later, the Fuel Masters made history.
For the first time in their PBA journey, the three-year-old franchise has booked a trip to the semifinals. The conference’s top-seeded team put up a masterful performance over the eight-seed Alaska Aces, 91-76.
“I’m glad it actually came into fruition, or else I would’ve been stupid,” said Wright.
“I wasn’t lying. We’re a legit team now.”
But beyond proving his claim, Wright is thankful that they have finally won a playoff game. Theu Fuel Masters were 0-for-6 prior to Sunday’s quarterfinals – and their first win propelled them to the semis.
“It feels good. It’s good to get the monkey off our back. We haven’t got a playoff win ever. It’s our first franchise post-season win. I’m happy to be part of history even if it’s just small,” said Phoenix’s pick in the special 2016 Draft.
“This means a lot to the franchise, the franchise who signs our checks. This is a big deal for us. But we’re far from there.”
Now, the Fuel Masters will wait for the winner of the TNT KaTropa-San Miguel Beermen series for their foes in the best-of-seven semis. Phoenix have the number of both teams, as they conquered them in the elimination round.
Phoenix beat TNT, 93-84, last January 19, and the defending four-time all-Filipino champs Beermen, 96-93, last March 16 in Panabo City.
Wright is fully aware that whoever they will face has vast experience at this stage. But he refuses to back down from the looming challenge, saying that they need to get past those kinds of teams if they want to win it all.
“That’s fun. We gotta beat the best teams to win a championship. We’re not gonna waltz our way to the Finals and win a championship easy,” Wright said.
“We’re gonna go against Talk N Text, we’re gonna go against Rain or Shine, we’re gonna go against San Miguel, we’re gonna go against Ginebra, Magnolia. There’s no easy route to the Finals. We’re not avoiding anybody,” he added.
“So we gotta go through these teams. But we like our chances too.”
