Phoenix rises, caps fightback vs GlobalPort

MANILA, Philippines – Mark Borboran tipped in a Matthew Wright miss from the long range as Phoenix Petroleum came back from the dead, overhauling a 26-point deficit in the fourth quarter to carve out a 101-99 shocker over GlobalPort in the PBA Governors Cup elimination round at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay last night.

Borboran fired a career-high 23 points, capped by the winning basket with 2.4 seconds to go as the Fuel Masters pulled off another dramatic triumph to sustain a surge that carried them to joint fourth with the Blackwater Elite at 4-3.

Later in the night, San Miguel Beer blasted off the starting block, stormed to a 31-point halftime lead and coasted to a 101-86 victory over Meralco to stay ahead of the pack with a 5-1 card.

Before a good crowd that included US Ambassador Sung Y. Kim, San Miguel dealt Meralco a severe beating that sent the Bolts deeper down the team standings at 2-4.

The US envoy did the ceremonial toss in the game where the Beermen buckled down to work right at the start and led by as many as 58-27 at the turn.

Blowing a 26-point bulge at 87-61 and failing to recover, the Batang Pier dropped to joint sixth with the Alaska Milk Aces, the Barangay Ginebra Kings and the Star Hotshots at 3-3.

Assistant coach Cholo Villanueva called the shots for the Batang Pier as head coach Franz Pumaren was on a holiday trip abroad, booked before Pumaren signed up with the ball club.

Borboran beat defender JR Quiñahan for a tip-in following a missed three-pointer by Wright as the Fuel Masters completed the incredible come-from-behind win that coach Ariel Vanguardia dedicated to his late mentor Adriano “Bong” Go.

Vanguardia, however, tossed the credit to his players.

“It was my fault (that we fell way behind). My game plan didn’t work and we saw Terrence Romeo score at will early on. We made some adjustments and, good thing, we got some stuffs going (in the fourth quarter). The guys didn’t quit and that’s the most important,” said Vanguardia.

“It’s been an emotional week for me. I lost my mentor,” Vanguardia also said.