Matthew Wright came through when needed the most as Phoenix Super LPG pulled the rug under Terrafirma, 103-100, to begin its 2021-22 PBA Governors’ Cup journey on the right foot, Thursday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
The Fil-Canadian finished with 17 points, 13 of which he made in the final 12 minutes to help the Fuel Masters come back from as much as 17 down.
His back-to-back triples tied the count at 91-all with 4:16 remaining, and his teammates took it from there as Paul Harris, RJ Jazul, Chris Banchero, and Jason Perkins put together a 9-0 run to make it a 100-94 lead, 2:14 left.
Wright went on to finish with a 35-percent clip from the field, together with a game-high 10 assists, six rebounds, and two steals in over 34 minutes.
“We just kept on playing,” said head coach Topex Robinson. “We just kept on grinding it with them. Again, we just didn’t want to give up. Just like what Matt said, just don’t give up. I mean, just keep playing. take our chances.
“And I guess we just went down to our defense, and our defense really helped our offense,” the youthful bench tactician added.
The returning Harris also made his presence felt in the win. He garnered 24 points, 15 rebounds, and three assists in 36 minutes of play.
A PBA champion with Talk N Text in 2011, the American import was crucial in the final seconds through his free throws to keep the Dyip at bay.
“What he brings to us actually is his energy and his leadership. And again, just the will to win. He’s really been vocal, he’s saying it like he really means it, and he’s really a big, big blessing for us,” said Robinson.
Perkins and Banchero had 18 points apiece for Phoenix, who’s looking to make a deep run this time after missing the quarters last Philippine Cup.
Meanwhile, Antonio Hester had 28 points and 16 rebounds to lead Terrafirma, who actually held a 90-77 lead with 7:41 remaining in the fourth.
The Dyip actually had chances to at least tie the game in the final moments, but Hester’s pass to Alex Cabagnot wasn’t properly caught by the latter. The ball sailed out of bounds, eventually leading to Harris’ game-sealing freebies.
Juami Tiongson made 20 points while the debuting Cabagnot had 12 in his first game since being traded by San Miguel for Simon Enciso.
Phoenix (1-0) will look to continue its winning ways versus the skidding Blackwater (0-1) on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. Terrafirma (0-1), on the other hand, aims to bounce back versus Rain or Shine (1-0) later in the day at 6:45 p,m.
The Scores:
Phoenix 103 – Harris 24, Perkins 18, Banchero 18, Wright 17, Jazul 9, Muyang 6, Manganti 4, Garcia 3, Pascual 2, Chua 2, Tamsi 0, Rios 0.
Terrafirma 100 – Hester 28, Tiongson 20, Cabagnot 12, Ramos 9, Cahilig 8, Adams 6, Ganuelas-Rosser 5, Celda 5, Gabayni 3, Camson 2, Pascual 2, Batiller 0, Balagasay 0.
Quarterscores: 30-25, 42-52, 67-77, 103-100.
