Brandone Francis struck the dagger as Phoenix warded off Blackwater, 119-114, to finally end its winless spell and – more importantly – stay alive in the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup on Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Dominican winger sprinted to haul down the missed jumper of RR Garcia to give the possession back to their side. He then nailed a booming trifecta shortly after to extend their lead to six, 113-107, with 48.8 seconds remaining.
The opposition still tried to fight back. but Francis himself would shut the door. He made his charities with 3.1 ticks left to play to settle the final count.
“We’re 1-7 right now. We were frustrated in the first seven games because in almost all of our games, we were in it. And then eventually, finally, we got a win tonight,” offered head coach Jamike Jarin post-game.
“I take full responsibility for all those losses. My apologies to everybody, especially to the Phoenix organization and to the players. We got over the hump,” he furthered. “We will work harder for our next game.”
Francis finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists as his heroics also saved the efforts of Garcia, who poured 16 of his 20 points in the fourth.
It was Garcia who kept the Fuel Masters in the lead after seeing what was once a 20-point lead become just two, 90-88, early in the said period – no thanks to a Bossing rally spearheaded by Sedrick Barefield and James Kwekuteye.
The tandem formed an explosive 1-2 punch and unloaded triple after triple to give Phoenix a major scare. However, the 34-year-old was not to be outshined by the young guns as he provided answers to nearly everything thrown their way.
“We all know that RR Garcia is a very talented and a very skillful player. The main reason he’s been playing so well is because of his selfless play. We always know that he can do a lot of things,” Jarin lauded about the FEU product.
Jason Perkins was key as well in the fourth quarter and went on to finish with 19 points and nine rebounds.
Ricci Rivero added 14 points, five rebounds, and four assists, while rookie Kai Ballungay chipped in 12 markers.
Phoenix improved to 1-7 in Group B and remained mathematically in contention after sending Blackwater to its second defeat in a row, falling to 3-5.
George King led the Bossing with 32 points on four fours, 10 rebounds, and six assists in the comeback that fell just short. Barefield fired 30 on five treys.
Kwekuteye made 20 points and six rebounds. Troy Rosario supplied 10 points, eight rebounds, and five assists plus a steal in the loss.
The Scores:
Phoenix 119 – Francis 23, Garcia 20, Perkins 19, Rivero 14, Ballungay 12, Tio 7, Ular 5, Tuffin 5, Jazul 4, Soyud 3, Manganti 3, Muyang 2, Salado 2, Verano 0, Alejandro 0.
Blackwater 114 – King 32, Barefield 30, Kwekuteye 20, Rosario 10, Escoto 10, Ilagan 4, Chua 3, Suerte 3, David 2, Micthell 0, Casio 0.
Quarterscores: 30-29, 64-47, 90-78, 119-114.
