Charles Tiu was hoping that the law of averages would catch up to Rain or Shine, and it did as Phoenix ended the PBA Commissioner’s Cup’s hottest winning streak through an 87-83 decision Tuesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Fuel Masters actually trailed by as many as 18 points but came back strong in the second half, turning it into a tight affair in the third canto before taking control for good down the stretch to ultimately pull off the massive upset.
With the result, they became the first to beat the erstwhile unscathed Elasto Painters, spoiling as well the latter’s hopes of expediting their bid to secure a Top Four finish, which merits a twice-to-beat edge in the quarterfinals.
(C) PBA Images
“Baka law of averages, baka pinagbigyan kami ni Coach Yeng (Guiao), or we caught them on their off-night,” offered the young bench tactician with a grin.
Jason Perkins led the way with 20 points, while star guard Tyler Tio fired 16 points, nine of which he made in the final period, as the tandem played pivotal roles in their major fourth-quarter reversal toward their second win in a row.
Tio himself nailed big triples to keep themselves in step with the opposition, including one that put them ahead at 75-72, which surely helped in shifting the momentum in their favor as the crew put together the finishing kick shortly after.
Perkins broke the 78-all deadlock with a perfect trip to the line, and those would actually trigger the crucial 9-1 run–in which James Dickey III and Ricci Rivero contributed as well–toward an 87-79 lead with less than three minutes left.
And that spread would prove to be too difficult for the Elasto Painters to erase, as the wards of Coach Yeng Guiao struggled to create any sort of rhythm offensively, so the best they could do was chop the gap to only four points.
They couldn’t even get a good look from four-point distance as Phoenix prevented them from having any through sheer effort on defense.
“We just challenged our team at halftime. Early on, it was like Space Jam: we couldn’t make a shot. Then we started making our shots,” said Tiu.
“Tyler made great shots, everybody came in with quality minutes. Everybody chipped in, and we chipped away,” the 37-year-old product of Ateneo added.
(C) PBA Images
Dickey finished with 17 points and 19 rebounds. Evan Nelle supplied 12 points and eight assists while Rivero added an 11-7-4 stat line for Phoenix, who’s set to face Converge next this Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Rain or Shine, on the other hand, was led by Adrian Nocum in the loss, in which they missed Felix Lemetti, who’s out indefinitely due to a left knee contusion.
Gian Mamuyac had 11 points as the locals tried to pick it up on a night Jaylen Johnson struggled offensively with only 12 points on 5-of-25 shooting from the field and six turnovers, although he had 19 rebounds and seven assists.
His poor shooting reflected the Elasto Painters’ woes as the team, as a whole, went 29-of-94 from the floor, including a 9-of-29 clip from three–that, after hitting a franchise record 23 triples in their win against Terrafirma the last time out.
Rain or Shine is now eyeing a quick bounce-back this Saturday when it takes on Clint Chapman and the streaking Magnolia (4-4) at the Big Dome as well.
The Scores:
Phoenix 87 – Perkins 20, Dickey III 17, Tio 16, Nelle 12, Rivero 11, Delos Santos 4, Tuffin 3, Santos 2, Escandor 2, Ynot 0, Daves 0
Rain or Shine 83 – Nocum 20, Johnson 12, Mamuyac 11, Clarito 9, Asistio 6, David 6, Roque 5, Tiongson 5, Villegas 3, Malonzo 2, Santillan 2, Caracut 2, Manaytay 0.
Quarterscores: 16-18, 29-44, 61-64, 87-83.
