PHOENIX guard Matthew Wright drives against Kenneth Ighalo of NLEX during PBA Philippine Cup action Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena. (PBA photo)
Phoenix Pulse overcame a determined stand by NLEX in the second half to escape with an 83-82 win to keep its unblemished record intact in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Matthew Wright’s timely offense netted him 17 points while Calvin Abueva’s last-second block on Bong Galanza sealed the Fuel Masters’ fifth straight win, maintaining their status as the league’s only unbeaten team.
Jason Perkins added 14 points and 11 rebounds and Abueva also recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds as Phoenix prevailed going into a tough stretch of games.
The Fuel Masters take on second-running Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
But coach Louie Alas was far from satisfied with how Phoenix had to dig deep in fashioning out a win after blowing a 17-point lead in the second quarter while falling behind by 11 in the third.
NLEX rallied behind Poy Erram, JR Quinahan, Galanza, Larry Fonacier, and rookie Kyles Lao, who, surprisingly, injected some needed spark with eight points and six assists in 16 minutes.
Phoenix slowly chipped away at the lead, resulting in a seesaw battle in the dying minutes.
“Medyo naging complacent kami sa second quarter,” admitted Alas.
Cold for most of the way, Wright found the stroke to score seven in the fourth, putting Phoenix up 83-79.
Philip Paniamogan gave the Road Warriors a ray of hope with a corner three that cut NLEX’s deficit to 83-82, 54.6 seconds left.
The Road Warriors missed two chances at taking the lead, including Galanza’s shot that was swatted by Abueva.
Quinahan scored 14 points and Erram added 11 points and 15 rebounds but the Road Warriors fell to 2-4. (Jonas Terrado)
Scores:
PHOENIX 83 – Wright 17, Perkins 14, Abueva 13, Mendoza 8, Jazul 8, Chua 6, Mallari 6, Revilla 3, Kramer 2, Marcelo 2, Napoles 2, Dennison 2, Gamboa 0.
NLEX 82 – Quinahan 14, Galanza 12, Erram 11, Fonacier 9, Baguio 9, Lao 8, Ighalo 6, Porter 6, Paniamogan 5, Taulava 2, Tiongson 0, Magat 0, Tallo 0.
Quarter scores: 24-12, 45-44, 67-70, 83-82.