It’s final: the Phoenix Fuel Masters are no match for the Star Hotshots
The Star Hotshots waxed hot in the second half to drub the Phoenix Fuel Masters once more, 91-71, in Game 2 of their 2017 PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinal series Monday night at the Araneta Coliseum.
The victory, aside from eliminating Phoenix, sends the Hotshots back to the All-Filipino semifinals for the first time since 2014, where they will wait for the winner of the Ginebra-Alaska series for their next opponents.
“Again our defense stepped up in this game. I told them it’s about our defense versus their offense,” said Star coach Chito Victolero.
Four Hotshots delivered double-digit outputs in the win. Paul Lee led the attack with 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting and nine assists. Marc Pingris supplied 16 on a 6-of-7 clip to go along with nine rebounds.
Star’s offense picked up in the third canto, scoring 12 straight points from 45-38, led by Lee’s triples and Pingris’ hook shots to thrash Phoenix by a wide 19 markers, 57-38, with 5:23 to go.
It was all Hotshots come the game’s final quarter. With Jalalon scoring eight in their 24-7 scoring run, Star were able to post the game’s widest gap at 26, 79-53, with 8:10 on the clock.
Jio Jalalon and Ian Sangalang each had identical numbers of 11 points and six rebounds, with a combined shooting of 7-of-12 from the floor.
From there, the Fuel Masters never recovered, as they could not crawl back from the deep grave Star had buried them in. Star’s lead was never trimmed by less than 20 points until the final buzzer.
Star’s semis trip will be a first time for Victolero. The mentor admitted his elation over the feat, but quickly reiterated that he and the team still have to work to do better at the next stage.
“Excited, at the same time, medyo kailangan magtrabaho because medyo yung mga makakatapat natin ay beterano na rin,” said Victolero.
“I think, sama-sama lang kami. Yun lang naman ang usapan namin. We need to stay together.”
Only three players led Phoenix in the loss, which serves as the end of their Philippine Cup stint. Matthew Wright led them with 24 points on 8-of-18 shooting. Simon Enciso and John Wilson backed him up with 12 and 10, respectively.
The Hotshots converted 32 of their 76 shots from the field toward a 42 percent clip, with most of those accounted from their 24 assists. They also made more second chance points, 19-17.
Star also converted more points off Phoenix’s 18 turnovers, 24-9. However, they were out-rebounded by a slim two boards, 49-47, and committed 15 turnovers.
The Scores:
Star (91) – Lee 17, Pingris 16, Jalalon 11, Sangalang 11, Maliksi 8, Barroca 7, Abundo 6, Ramos 6, Melton 5, Brondial 4, Reavis 0, Javier 0, Dela Rosa 0.
Phoenix (71) – Wright 24, Enciso 12, Intal 10, W. Wilson 6, Borboran 5, Baguio 4, J. Wilson 3, Torres 3, Kramer 2, Alolino 2, Dehesa 0, Miranda 0.
Quarterscores: 22-18, 42-35, 65-49, 91-71.
