MANILA – Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters mounted a huge fight in the final quarter to topple Magnolia Hotshots, 91-84, in the 2020 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup at the AUF Sports Arena and Cultural Center in Pampanga last night.
Trailing by as much as 17 points in the second half, the Fuel Masters leaned on inside baskets by Matthew Wright and outside conversions by JC Intal and RR Garcia to tie the score at 80-all.
Phoenix Super LPG went on to take the upperhand at 89-80 following three consecutive three-pointers from RJ Jazul, Bacolodnon Justin Chua and Intal with under two minutes left.
The Hotshots countered with back-to-back baskets from Andy Mark Barroca and Rome Dela Rosa to come to within 84-89, but a layup by Garcia sealed the victory for the Fuel Masters.
Wright top-scored in the match with 23 points, Jason Perkins chipped in double-double 20 points and 12 rebounds while Chua and Garcia ended up with 14 and 12 respectively as the Fuel Masters halted its two-game slide to improve to a 3-2 slate.
Chris Banchero finished the game with 20 points, Ian Sangalang added 15 markers while Rafael Reavis had double-double 12 points and 10 rebounds as the Hotshots suffered their third straight defeat to slid down to a 1-4 card.
In the first PBA game, the Meralco Bolts survived a strong showing from Ilonggo Kiefer Ravena of NLEX Road Warriors as they cruised to a 101-92 victory. The Bolts upped their record to 3-2 while the Road Warriors dropped to 1-4.
After seeing its double-digit edge turn into a 54-56 deficit midway in the third period, Meralco went on a rally behind Chris Newsome, Raymond Almazan and Raymon Jamito for a 75-63 edge.
NLEX attempted to make a run several times in the fourth period, but Meralco had their finishing run courtesy of Newsome and Allein Maliksi for a 99-90 advantage.
Newsome finished the match with 18 points, Maliksi added 17 markers while Almazan and Baser Amer contributed 11 each for the Bolts. Ravena had a conference-best 30 points in the Road Warriors’ defeat.
BOX SCORE:
PHOENIX 91 – Wright 23, Perkins 20, Chua 14, Garcia 12, Intal 8, Jazul 7, Napoles 4, Marcelo 2, Heruela 1, Gamboa 0, Rios 0.
MAGNOLIA 84 – Banchero 20, Sangalang 15, Reavis 12, Lee 10, Barroca 10, Dela Rosa 7, Melton 3, Jalalon 3, Corpuz 2, Calisaan 2, Abundo 0, Pascual 0.
QUARTERSCORES:
Q1, 22-16; Q2, 34-39; Q3, 60-71; Q4, 91-84./PN
