Kenneth Tuffin nailed the clutch free throws to help Phoenix come away with the 98-97 decision over Meralco to take the provisional lead in Group B of the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup on Wednesday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The lefty wing canned the pressure-packed foul shots with 13.4 seconds left to get ahead and the Fuel Masters would go on to lean on defense, disrupting CJ Cansino’s attempt to put his Bolts up again with less than five seconds left.
Jason Perkins hauled down the missed layup and threw it away as time expired, and the crew went on to celebrate as they managed to prevent a collapse from taking place after coughing up a 15-point lead they built in the first.
With the great escape, Phoenix has now won its second in as many games, and will try to make it three in a row versus Ginebra this Sunday.
“We just keep talking about being locked in, and making some stops,” said head coach Charles Tiu as they hacked out the win against a team that played without import Jordon Varnado reportedly due to a calf injury.
