MANILA, Philippines — Matthew Wright celebrated his 27th birthday by sealing the win for Phoenix Petroleum, draining a game-tying trey then setting up Doug Kramer for the go-ahead basket for a 74-72 nail-biter over TNT KaTropa in the PBA Philippine Cup last night at the MOA Arena.
Wright and the Fuel Masters perfectly executed their last two offensive thrusts and in the process completed a stirring come-from-behind win to move a notch up to joint fifth place with the Texters at 4-4.
Phoenix trailed majority of the way in the game marred by a nasty fall by TNT forward Troy Rosario after being accidentally undercut by Jason Perkins early in the fourth quarter.
Rosario hit the floor chin first and was later carried out of the arena on a stretcher and rushed to a nearby hospital.
Still, the Texters stayed in control until the Fuel Masters stole the game on a closing 5-0 binge in the last 44 seconds.
“We’re a resilient bunch. We needed this game. We’re down the whole game but we just willed ourselves to victory,” said Wright, shortly after getting a birthday shower from teammates JC Intal and Willy Wilson.
“At least, we’re inside the Top Six at this point. Our target is to finish fourth to sixth for a spot in the best-of-three quarterfinals,” said Phoenix coach Louie Alas.
“My concern right now is that our game always dips after a victory. After our last win against Ginebra, we lost by 22 to Alaska. We have to check that. We play next Meralco, and they need a win badly,” Alas added.
Wright came through with 16 points, five rebounds and three steals while Jeff Chan and Gelo Alolino contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively, as the Fuel Masters foiled the Texters’ bid at taking solo fourth place behind San Miguel Beer (6-1), Magnolia (6-2) and Alaska (6-2).
The Texters squandered a 13-point bulge and eventually yielded the game as Kelly Williams – also celebrating his birthday – failed to convert their final offensive play in the last three seconds.
Rosario’s early exit told heavily on the Texters. The former National U standout had put up eight rebounds, four points, one assist and one steal before his hard fall.
Barangay Ginebra also grabbed a piece of fifth place at 4-4 as it sprang back from a loss to NLEX the last time out in walloping the hapless Kia side, 103-77, later in the night.
“We considered this game the start of the playoffs. We’re completely focused on the game, playing with a playoff mentality,” said Scottie Thompson, shining brightest among the Kings with a near triple-double job with 14 rebounds, 12 points and seven rebounds despite sitting out the fourth quarter.
Kia dropped deeper down the cellar at 1-7.
The scores:
First Game
Phoenix 74 – Wright 16, Chan 11, Alolino 10, Perkins 8, Kramer 8, Wilson 8, Jazul 5, Chua 4, Mendoza 4, Dehesa 0, Cortes 0, Eriobu 0, Intal 0, Revilla 0.
TNT 72 – Semerad 12, Pogoy 10, Castro 9, Tautuaa 9, Williams 8, Tamsi 5, Reyes 5, Carey 4, Rosario 4, Garcia 3, Torres 3.
Quarterscores: 20-24, 30-40, 56-61, 74-72
Second Game
Barangay Ginebra 103 – Slaughter 14, Tenorio 13, J. Aguilar 13, Thompson 12, Ferrer 10, Taha 8, Manuel 8, Caperal 6, R. Aguilar 6, Mercado 4, Cruz 4, Jamito 3, Caguioa 2, Wilson 0.
KIA 77 – McCarthy 15, Tubid 13, Corpuz 9, Reyes 8, Jamon 5, Camson 4, Sara 4, Escoto 4, Khobuntin 4, Yee 4, Lastimosa 3, Ababou 2, Galanza 2, Celda 0, Gabriel 0.
Quarterscores: 25-24, 53-34, 78-52, 103-77