Phoenix stays hot in Tour

MANILA, Philippines — Short in numbers but not in heart, hardworking Phoenix disposed of Meralco, 100-93, to continue its hot start in the PBA On Tour last Sunday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.

Raul Soyud typified the nine-man Fuel Masters’ herculean efforts against the Bolts, delivering 25 points on a near-flawless 11-of-12 marksmanship plus 13 rebounds to lead Jamike Jarin’s team to back-to-back victories.

With a big-time cleanup job on Sean Manganti’s miss, Soyud sparked a 12-5 closing barrage as Phoenix got the job done against Meralco four days after taking down San Miguel Beer, 106-101, in the pre-season meet.

“Siyam lang kami kaya step up at sabi nga ni coach magtulungan kami ano man ang mangyari sa laro,” said the burly big man, who delivered his best performance since joining Phoenix in the last conference.

RR Garcia added 15 with five assists, Manganti posted 12 markers and seven boards, youthful frontliner Larry Muyang had a 13-12 double-double as Tyler Tio produced 10. Daniel Atienza (9), Jayjay Alejandro (7), Chris Lalata (6), and RJ Jazul (3) contributed as well for the 2-0 Fuel Masters.

There was actually a 10th man on the Phoenix bench, Simon Camacho, but he was still reeling from the injury he sustained in the SMB game and hardly saw action.

Meanwhile, Magnolia rained 15 treys on Blackwater to run away with a 117-83 rout in the other featured match.

Backup center James Laput had a breakout 12-12 outing while trade acquisition Abu Tratter debuted with 14-7 for Magnolia.