By JONAS TERRADO
Matthew Wright hit a running three in the dying seconds to give Phoenix Super LPG a hard-fought 89-88 win over Magnolia in a seesaw quarterfinal match Saturday and into the semifinals of the PBA Philippine Cup at the Angeles University Foundation Sports and Cultural Center.
With the shot clock winding down after spending most of the possession struggling to protect the ball, the Fuel Masters were able to get the ball to Wright who calmly fired the shot past Mark Barroca to take the lead with 9.8 seconds left.
Magnolia tried to answer Wright’s triple and force a do-or-die match but Paul Lee missed a step back jumper from the left side before Calvin Abueva grabbed the rebound as time expired.
Wright finished with 32 points, five rebounds and nine assists despite Phoenix coach Topex Robinson and his staff’s decision to have him come off the bench in the contest that eventually saw nine ties and 12 lead changes.
“It’s just magical for us,” said Robinson, who steered the team to a second straight Philippine Cup semis in his first conference since being elevated from his assistant coaching duties.
“We’re just so blessed to be here, to grind it out with one of the best teams in the league”
Phoenix will take on TNT in a best-of-five semifinal series which starts Wednesday inside the Smart Clark Giga City bubble.
The Tropang Giga defeated the Alaska Aces, 104-83, earlier in the day to reach the semis.
The duel between Abueva and TNT’s Ray Parks Jr. is expected to provide additional drama to the series.
Jason Perkins had 16 points and six rebounds for Phoenix, which once again handed Magnolia another heartbreaking loss albeit cutting short its stint in the bubble.
Magnolia went up 88-86 with under two minutes remaining on a basket by Ian Sangalang and had multiple chances to seal the victory late.
But the Hotshots, who forced Fuel Master Abueva to turn the ball off an inbound and get another break shortly after when the latter missed two free throws, turned the ball over twice, the last when Barroca opted to make a pass instead of firing a jump shot.
His last-second decision led to a pass directly to Abueva who called a timeout in order for Phoenix to set up Wright’s game-winner.
Lee scored 17 points while Sangalang and Barroca added 15 points apiece but it was not enough for the Hotshots as they suffered an early exit in the Philippine Cup after runner-up finishes in the previous two editions.
Earlier, RR Pogoy sizzled for 34 points as TNT grabbed the second semis berth after top seed Ginebra outlasted Rain or Shine on Friday.
More than a month after scoring 45 points on 10 triples, Pogoy torched the Aces anew by making 16 points spiked by four three-pointers in the third quarter that opened the door for the Tropang Giga to turn a tight first half into a blowout in the event being held inside the Smart Clark Giga City bubble.
TNT won by quickly erasing a 51-40 deficit in the second quarter with 11 straight points to go into halftime tied at 51-all. The Tropang Giga then came out of the dugout with a 14-2 run with Pogoy accounting for eight.
Pogoy would hit eight more in the third, including one that brought TNT ahead 84-64 near the end of the period.
The scores:
First Game
TNT 104 — Pogoy 34, Parks 20, Rosario 10, Erram 9, Castro 8, Enciso 6, Semerad 4, Washington 4, Alejandro 3, Reyes 2, Montalbo 2, Carey 2, Vosotros 0, Flores 0.
ALASKA 83 — Teng 13, Manuel 12, Ahanmisi 12, Herndon 11, Brondial 9, Ayaay 8, Tratter 6, Ebona 4, DiGregorio 4, Casio 2, Marcelino 2, Galliguez 0, Publico 0, Andrada 0.
Quarters: 28-23, 51-51, 84-66, 104-83.
Second Game
PHOENIX 89 — Wright 32, Perkins 16, Jazul 9, Abueva 6, Chua 5, Rios 5, Mallari 3, Reyes 3, Intal 3, Garcia 2, Marcelo 0.
MAGNOLIA 88 — Lee 17, Sangalang 15, Barroca 15, Dela Rosa 11, Banchero 9, Melton 9, Jalalon 8, Reavis 4, Corpuz 0, Dionisio 0.
Quarters: 24-21, 37-39, 66-63, 89-88.
