Reden Celda had himself a successful return from injury, shining in the endgame to lift Columbian past the Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters, 100-98, in the 2019 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Saturday at SM Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay City.
Celda buried a tough floater all over the defense of Jason Perkins with 9.3 seconds left to play to give his side the two-point lead. The Dyip then prevented the opposition from having a clear look at the basket to secure the win.
Celda’s basket, however, would not have been possible without the huge stop by forward Glenn Khobuntin with around 16.5 seconds remaining, as he chased down RJ Jazul and swatted the latter’s lay-up emphatically.
The Dyip improved its win-loss record to 3-7 to keep their flickering playoff hopes beating.
“I told them, three games we were very close. Sabi ko sa kanila, if we play like that again, baka maka-tsamba tayo,” said Columbian head coach Johnedel Cardel, whose side is coming off three straight down-the-wire games prior to Saturday.
Lester Prosper set the pace for Columbian with 25 points, 21 rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal.
Rashawn McCarthy produced 19 points on top of four rebounds, four assists, a steal, and a block, as rookie CJ Perez finished with 18 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals in over 42 minutes that he saw action.
Celda — who sat out for two games due to a hip injury — had 17 points, eight assists, and four rebounds.
Richard Howell had 35 points, 23 rebounds, a game-high seven steals, and four assists to lead Phoenix, who had actually taken an 86-84 lead with 6:08 left in the fourth after Howell scored 10 of the Fuel Masters’ 11 straight points.
Matthew Wright had 23 points, including the triple that tied the game at 98-all with 32.6 seconds left, along with five assists and four rebounds. Jazul contributed a near-double-double with 12 markers, nine assists, and three rebounds.
The Fuel Masters have dropped to 4-5, tied with the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters at sixth in the team standings.
The Scores:
Columbian 100 – Prosper 25, McCarthy 19, Perez 18, Celda 17, Khobuntin 6, Reyes 5, Camson 4, Escoto 4, Cahilig 2, Faundo 0, Tabi 0.
Phoenix 98 – Howell 35, Wright 23, Jazul 12, Intal 8, Mallari 7, Perkins 7, Chua 6, Kramer 0, Marcelo 0, Napoles 0, Dennison 0.
Quarterscores: 22-27, 49-40, 73-71, 100-98 .
