MANILA – Rafael Joey “RJ” Jazul waxed hot from downtown in the final period as Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters walloped San Miguel Beermen, 110-103, in the 2020 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup at the AUF Sports Arena and Cultural Center in Pampanga last night.
Clinging to a slim 75-73 lead early in the fourth, Jazul drained a triple and a two pointer while Matthew Wright added an outside hit as the Fuel Masters built an 83-75 advantage.
The Beermen clawed back anew at 87-89, but Jazul and the Fuel Masters kept them at bay as he drained four consecutive triples for a 98-93 lead. He added two more triples in the last two minutes to take the fight away from the Beermen.
Jazul finished the match with career-best 33 points, including nine three-point conversions while Jason Perkins added double-double 27 points and 10 rebounds as the Fuel Masters moved to a 6-3 win-loss record.
Ryan Roose Garcia chipped in 11 markers, Wright struggled on offense with 10 points but also had 10 assists while Bacolodnon center Justin Chua grabbed career-best 17 rebounds on top of his seven points for the Phoenix.
Moala Tautuaa top-scored with 21 points while Alex Cabagnot and Marcio Lassiter added 20 markers apiece as the defending champions Beermen saw their four-game winning run drop to 5-3.
Meanwhile, Paul Lee had another scoring outburst as the Magnolia Hotshots cruised to a 103-89 domination over the slumping TerraFirma Dyip. The Hotshots rose to 4-4 while Dyip remained winless in seven outings.
Holding to a 48-46 halftime lead, the Hotshots kicked off the third period with a strong run behind Lee and Ian Sangalang for a 60-48 lead that later grew to 76-60 on conversions from Rome dela Rosa and Jackson Corpuz.
TerraFirma countered with a huge rally in the fourth quarter to come to as close as 12 points, but three-point baskets by Dela Rosa and an inside hit by Jiovani Jalalon widened the lead for Magnolia.
Lee finished the match with 29 points, including five three-point conversions while dela Rosa added 17 markers for the Hotshots. Jaymar Perez ended up with 19 points to lead TerraFirma.
In PBA’s second game, Meralco Bolts leaned on a strong third quarter surge before holding off Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the endgame for an 85-78 win. Chris Newsome had 19 points for the 5-3 Bolts. The Painters dropped to 4-3.
BOX SCORE:
PHOENIX 110 – Jazul 33, Perkins 27, Garcia 11, Wright 10, Chua 7, Mallari 7, Abueva 7, Marcelo 3, Rios 3, Intal 2, Heruela 0, Reyes 0.
SAN MIGUEL 103 – Tautuaa 21, Cabagnot 20, Lassiter 20, Santos 11, Pessumal 10, Ross 6, Escoto 6, Gamalinda 5, Mamaril 2, Zamar 2, Alolino 0.
QUARTERSCORES:
Q1, 29-22; Q2, 52-53; Q3, 75-71; Q4, 110-103./PN
