The Phoenix Accelerators sustained their unbeaten run in the 2016 PBA D-League Foundation Cup after a wire-to-wire 97-89 win over AMA Online Education Titans on Tuesday at the JCSGO Seed Dome in Quezon City.
Mike Tolomia fired 20 points in the first half alone, as the Accelerators took a 58-39 lead entering the halftime break. Tolomia finished with 27 points to lead all scorers.
Ed Daquiaog added 18 points, six rebounds, and six assists, while Alfredo Tamsi contributed 16 points.
Phoenix led by as much as 23 points, although AMA kept fighting back. Jaycee Asuncion tried to make things interesting in the fourth, hitting back-to-back threes and making a lay-up in transition which cut the Phoenix lead down to 92-83.
Asuncion nailed another triple before Gene Belleza made two free throws to cut the deficit down to 95-89 with under a minute left.
Daquioag missed two charities with 34.2 seconds left, leaving the door open for AMA but Belleza missed a triple on the other end. Alfred Batino sank two free throws afterwards to seal the win for Phoenix.
The Accelerators were without Roger Pogoy in the win. Head coach Erick Gonzales also opted to rest Mac Belo even if Belo dressed up for the match, citing tightness in the forward’s hamstring.
The Phoenix bench stepped up without the two, scoring 40 points, 18 more than AMA’s substitutes.
Despite the win, Gonzales still wanted his team to improve and avoid getting overconfident.
“Hindi ka naman dapat makuntento sa kung ano lang ang meron kayo. May tendency talaga mag-relax. (Pero) yun ang pagiging coach. I-ga-guide mo sila,” Gonzales said.
“Win as much as we can. We want to get to the top. Yun ang goal namin.”
Ryan Arambulo had 18 points for AMA, while Asuncion and Rey Publico each scored 17 points. Jay-R Taganas, who suited up for AMA for the first time this conference, finished with 14 points and 21 rebounds.
The Scores:
Phoenix (97) – Tolomia 27, Daquioag 18, Tamsi 16, Jamito 11, Mendoza 7, Pascual 6, Inigo 5, Batino 3, Andrada 2, Escoto 2, Knuttel 0.
AMA (89) – Arambulo 18, Asuncion 17, Publico 17, Taganas 14, Belleza 10, Montemayor Jo. 9, Bragais 2, Magpantay 2, Calma 0, Dizon 0, Jordan 0, Montemayor Je. 0, Ragasa 0.
Quarterscores: 29-16, 58-39, 78-57, 97-89.
