MANILA – Phoenix Fuel Masters showed nerves of steel down the stretch to score a 96-93 win over San Miguel Beermen in the 2019 Honda PBA Philippine Cup on Saturday at the Panabo Multi-Purpose Tourism, Sports and Cultural Center in Davao del Norte.
With the score tied at 90-all, the Fuel Masters strung up five consecutive points – a three-pointer from Matthew Wright and an inside hit from Jason Perkins – for a 95-90 advantage with 59 seconds left.
The Beermen came to within 93-95 after a three-pointer by Arwind Santos but after a San Miguel turnover, Perkins increased the lead to 96-93 with a split free throw before seeing Beermen’s Terrence Romeo misfire his potential game-tying triple.
Wright finished the match with 25 points, including three three-point conversions, for the Fuel Masters, which secured the No. 1 spot and twice-to-beat edge in the quarterfinals with 9-2 win-loss slate.
Alex Mallari added 12 points, six rebounds and six assists, while Perkins contributed double-double 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Fuel Masters, which finished on top of the standings for the first time in franchise’s history.
The Fuel Masters were scorching early on for a 16-8 edge on baskets from Wright and Perkins. The Beermen rallied to within 18-25 but a triple by LA Revilla and free throws by Alex Mallari increased Phoenix’s lead to 33-19.
The Fuel Masters maintained the advantage in the second period on shots from Wright and Justin Chua but the Beermen countered with a rally from June Mar Fajardo to come to within 46-49 at the half.
The Beermen went on to seize the lead at 50-49 early in the third before the match turned to a seesaw affair before the Fuel Masters went ahead at 65-57 on shots from Calvin Abueva and Ron Dennison.
San Miguel come close anew at the onset of the fourth but the Phoenix created distance at 80-73 on shots by Wright but the Beermen countered with a run to force a deadlock at 90-all on a layup by Chris Ross.
Fajardo finished with double-double 29 points and 12 rebounds, while Alex Cabagnot and Terrence Romeo added 17 and 15 markers, respectively, for the Beermen, which dropped to 6-4./PN
