Kenneth Tuffin came through in dire straits to help Phoenix hold off Converge, 113-107, to halt their two-game slide in the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup, Friday evening at the Philsports Arena in Pasig,
The rookie winger scored seven in the Fuel Masters’ 9-0 run toward a 111-100 lead with 2:42 left to play, all but sealing the deal after allowing the FiberXers to come within two, 102-100, from a deficit as big as 18 points.
Tuffin finished with 16 points, nine of which he made in the fourth quarter alone, and 10 rebounds as the crew of Coach Jamike Jarin collected their second win in six outings thus far in the season-ending conference.
“It was the same thing that happened to us in the first half, kinda losing our identity,” offered lead assistant Willy Wilson post-game on the near-collapse. “Once we found that identity, we were able to get back on track.
“Human nature says that you get a little comfortable when you have a lead and it happens to almost every single team and we’re no different,” he added.
Jason Perkins top-scored for Phoenix with 26 points and 13 rebounds. Ricci Rivero produced 17, 12 of which he made in the third quarter as he garnered most of his points from the charity stripe, shooting 9-of-11.
Javee Mocon and Matthew Daves added 11 markers each in their conquest of the FiberXers, which remained winless in seven outings.
Aside from bringing them in danger of missing the playoffs, the loss wasted the career-high outings of Justin Arana (32 points, 16 rebounds) and Alec Stockton (31 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals, two blocks).
Per PBA stats chief Fidel Mangonon III, the last time two local teammates had 30 in a game was in last season’s Philippine Cup, when June Mar Fajardo and Jericho Cruz dropped 30 each in San Miguel’s 115-99 win over TNT.
Rookie big man Bryan Santos was the only other double-digit scorer for Converge with 11 points in the comeback that fell short.
The Scores:
Phoenix 113 – Perkins 26, Rivero 17, Tuffin 16, Daves 11, Mocon 11, Alejandro 10, Lalata 7, Salado 6, Muyang 3, Manganti 3, Verano 2, Jazul 1, Camacho 0.
Converge 107 – Arana 32, Stockton 31, Santos 11, Delos Santos 8, Winston 8, Caralipio 7, Andrade 3, Ambohot 3, Fornilos 2, Fleming 2, Maagdenberg 0, Melecio 0, Nieto 0, Zaldivar 0.
Quarterscores: 23-27, 50-50, 86-73, 113-107.
