Kenneth Tuffin nailed clutch free throws to help Phoenix come away with a 98-97 win over Meralco, taking 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, before the Fuel Masters leaned on their 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. The crew went on to celebrate as they managed to prevent a collapse after coughing up a 15-point lead they had built in the first.
With the great escape, Phoenix has now tallied its second win in as many games and will try to make it three in a row versus Ginebra this Sunday.
(C) PBA Images
“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 due to a minor calf strain.
BJ Johnson top-scored for the Fuel Masters with 26 points and six rebounds. Ricci Rivero made 20 points, six rebounds, and five assists.
Tuffin finished with 17 points and seven rebounds toward earning Player of the Game honors, while Perkins added 13 points and six rebounds.
Leading Meralco, on the other hand, was Cansino with 18 points, with Allein Maliksi coming through with 16 — making 15 of his points in the second period alone, as he brought them into the match after staring at a 37-22 deficit.
Brandon Bates had a double-double of 14 points and 15 rebounds, while vets Cliff Hodge and Raymond Almazan added 13 and 10, respectively.
(C) PBA Images
It was Bates who gave the Bolts the 97-94 advantage following a split from the foul line with 1:19 to go. The young bruiser would have preferred to sink both, though, to at least make the gap tougher for the opposition to hurdle.
As it turned out, their three-point lead was not enough of a safety net. Johnson and Tuffin chipped away at the deficit with trips to the line coupled by crucial stops, which included two denials on Chris Newsome.
But definitely, the biggest stop of them all was checking Cansino, who tried to bank it in high for the go-ahead bucket but could not get it to fall.
“This is a game where somehow we got lucky with Meralco not having an import, and we didn’t want to let it slip away,” said Tiu.
Meralco will try to get its first win versus Rain or Shine this Saturday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo, with replacement import Antonio Hester.
The Scores:
Phoenix Super LPG 98 – Johnson 26, Rivero 20, Tuffin 17, Perkins 13, Ballungay 6, Chua 6, Gozum 4, Tio 3, Santos 3, Delos Santos 0, Reavis 0.
Meralco 97 – Cansino 18, Maliksi 16, Bates 14, Hodge 13, Almazan 10, Brickman 6, Newsome 6, Banchero 4, Black 4, Quinto 2, Magbuhos 2, Mocon 2, Rios 0.
Quarterscores: 31-22, 50-56, 73-75, 98-97.
