MANILA – Calvin Abueva made his debut with his new team but it was Eugene Phelps who shined the brightest as Phoenix Fuel Masters opened the 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup with a 113-107 win over Columbian Dyip on Wednesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Phelps, who is on his fifth tour of duty with Fuel Masters, flirted with triple-double with 50 points, 17 points and eight blocks to lead Phoenix to a 1-0 start along with Magnolia Hotshots.
Abueva also made a good account of himself in an off-the-bench role with double-double 12 points and 11 rebounds, none bigger than an offensive rebound and free throws in the endgame to seal the win for Fuel Masters.
Fuel Masters started strong and went up by as much as 18 points before Dyip came up with a strong surge in the third to knot the scores 73-all. Phoenix created distance from Columbian anew in the fourth 96-84 on baskets by Phelps.
Dyip made its last push on a series of triples to cut the deficit 107-109 but Fuel Masters held its own on the defensive end before sealing the victory on free throws by Matthew Wright and Abueva.
“Defensively wala pa talaga kaming toughness. We gave up 37 in the third quarter. Not to discount Kia (Dyip) pero sabi ko sa kanila makaka-shoot lang sa atin iyan sa transition most of the time, that’s if we turn the ball over,” rued Fuel Masters mentor Louie Alas.
Hotshots was able to join Fuel Masters on top of the standings with a wire-to-wire 102-72 victory over the erstwhile unbeaten NLEX Road Warriors despite missing the services of star guard Paul Lee.
Andy Mark Barroca and Peter June Simon came out firing in the opening half while returning import Romeo Travis put on the finishing touches in the second half as Hotshots dealt Road Warriors its first loss in three matches.
Travis finished the match with double-double 21 points and 13 rebounds while Barroca and Simon added 13 and 12 points, respectively, for Hotshots. Oluseyi Ashaolu had 21 markers and nine boards for Road Warriors./PN
