Phoenix got off to a roaring start in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup following a 98-86 come-from-behind victory over Magnolia in a battle between Group B squads at the Ynares Center II in Montalban on Saturday night.
The Fuel Masters got into a dry spell and trailed by as many as 16 during the first half, but turned it around come the third quarter before building a cushion early in the payoff period big enough to ward off their foes’ rally late in the bout.
“I think we played much better in the second half. We responded well. We defended well. We’re not known as the best defensive team, but we found a way to win, to get some stops,” lauded head coach Charles Tiu.
(C) PBA Images
A Bryan Santos triple pushed their lead to 86-71 barely three minutes into the fourth, then came the usual suspects, Tyler Tio, Jason Perkins, and Ricci Rivero, as the star troika put together the solid finish to complete the reversal.
Tio himself knocked down a crucial trifecta shortly after opposing guard Jerom Lastimosa cut the deficit to nine and pushed their lead back to a dozen, 95-83, with 2:22 left, putting them up by double digits for the rest of the bout.
Perkins then bulldozed his way inside and banked in a tough layup, before Rivero split his shots from the foul line with 17.9 seconds to spare to seal it.
“Give credit to the guys. They woke up and played differently in the second half,” offered Tiu, as his charges’ 31-point turnaround ultimately enabled Phoenix to join the Blackwater Bossing as the early winners in their group.
BJ Johnson top-scored for the winning side with 34 points, 26 of which he made in the middle quarters as he led the way in trekking the comeback trail.
Jason Perkins made 23 points, including 14 in the opening period. Tio chipped in 11 markers, nine of which he produced in the second half.
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The Fuel Masters will try to start the season-ending tilt with back-to-back wins when they face Meralco on July 15 at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Zav Lucero, on the other hand, led Magnolia with 20 points in the loss. Import KJ Buffen had 15 points in a foul-plagued outing while Ian Sangalang and Lastimosa came through with 15 and 14 points, respectively.
The defeat spoiled the historic night of Sangalang, whose basket at the 8:51 mark of the opening period made him the 104th member of the PBA’s 5,000 Points Club, according to league stats chief Fidel Mangonon III.
The Hotshots (0-1) will face the 1-0 Bossing next Saturday, July 17, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo with the hope to barge into the win column.
The Scores:
Phoenix 98 – Johnson 34, Perkins 23, Tio 11, Tuffin 7, Ballungay 6, Santos 6, Rivero 6, Delos Santos 3, Chua 2, Cullar 0, Reavis 0.
Magnolia 86 – Lucero 20, Buffen 15, Lastimosa 14, Sangalang 13, Lee 8, Barroca 4, Alfaro 3, Andrada 3, Gómez De Liano J. 2, Koon 2, Jopia 2, Dela Rosa 0.
Quarterscores: 26-32, 49-53, 79-71, 98-86.
