ANTIPOLO — Ricci Rivero rewrote his PBA career-high to power Phoenix in dealing Terrafirma its first loss of the Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup by way of a 133-105 beatdown at the Ynares Center here, Wednesday evening.
The crafty combo guard finished with 40 points, including 21 in just the first half as he spearheaded the Fuel Masters’ 31-point pullaway in the second chapter on the way to dislodging the erstwhile unbeaten Dyip atop the standings.
Rivero knocked down seven threes and also chalked up six rebounds and eight assists in 33 minutes of play to lead his side to a solid bounce-back after coming off a 93-86 defeat to Jason Brickman and Meralco the last time out.
Both teams are now carrying identical 3-1 records, but Coach Charles Tiu and his charges have the advantage, given the convincing victory.
(C) PBA Images
“We’re just trying to rack up some wins,” said the young mentor. “Kasi ang goal lang naman namin, first and foremost, is to try to make a playoff push. We know naman that the Phoenix franchise has been hungry for a playoff berth.”
Ef Escandor also shone in the win with 20 points, most of which he produced in the final period to lead the strong closeout, and five rebounds.
Import James Dickey III netted a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds, on top of three assists, three steals, and a block for a full line.
Evan Nelle also produced 14 points, while big man Prince Caperal chipped in 11 markers as a total of five players finished in double figures in the rout that saw the crew shoot 52.8 percent from the field, highlighted by 19 triples.
“The shooting was good. I wish we could shoot like this every game,” said Tiu as their hot shooting also enabled the team to hit 40 points in the third.
Phoenix will have ample time to rest and then prepare, as it won’t play until Easter Sunday on April 5 against NLEX at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
(C) PBA Images
Jerrick Ahanmisi, on the other hand, carried the load for Terrafirma with 37 points in their first loss after starting the contest with three straight wins.
No other local was able to hit double digits in scoring, with import Mubashar Ali the only other player in double figures with 13 points as he was the Fuel Masters’ focal point on defense. But he did have 17 rebounds to his tally.
The road will get tougher for the Dyip from hereon as they will be facing Magnolia, TNT, and Rain or Shine, in that order, in their next three games.
The Scores:
Phoenix 133 – Rivero 40, Escandor 20, Dickey 14, Nelle 14, Caperal 11, Perkins 9, Daves 8, Tuffin 7, Delos Santos 4, Santos 3, Gozum 3, Tio 0, Ando 0
Terrafirma 105 – J.Ahanmisi 37, Ali 13, Hernandez 9, M.Ahanmisi 9, Umali 8, Hanapi 6, Chiu 6, Eriobu 4, Bravo 4, Catapusan 4, Paraiso 3, Zaldivar 2, Garcia 0, Adamos 0.
Quarterscores: 25-23, 56-46, 96-73, 133-105.
