PHOENIX stunned reigning champion Meralco, 109-97, on Sunday for its first win in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Fuelmasters welcomed Jason Perkins back with a rousing victory over the Bolts to atone for two straight defeats to start the conference.
Ricci Rivero had a career-high 20 points just behind Tyler Tio, who led the team in scoring with 22.
Perkins, who missed the team's first two matches due to a bout with the flu, helped the cause by finishing with 19 markers for Phoenix, whose two defeats were against Terrafirma and Converge.
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“In our pregame, we talked about doing all the right things - going to practice early, we do our extra, we follow the coaches, we are very respectful with our coaches, players and everybody. We just couldn’t get the results that we wanted,” said Phoenix coach Jamike Jarin.
“We were just pressuring ourselves too much na, 'I’m doing all the work, how come I’m not making my shots and how come I’m making bad decisions?'
"We all just gathered together, had fun, played our game, and stayed together. A lot of credit goes to all the coaches and especially to all the players and management,” Jarin added.
Rivero got Phoenix to a great start by scoring 14 points in the first quarter to open a 31-13 lead over Meralco.
The Fuelmasters never looked flustered ebven after the Bolts cut the lead down to 12 points, 71-59, midway through the third, and 104-92, late in the fourth.
Chris Newsome had 18 points but fouled out late in the fourth quarter for Meralco, which also saw Hodge getting six fouls. Bong Quinto added 17 points for the Bolts.
The scores:
Phoenix 109 – Tio 22, Rivero 20, Perkins 19, Ballungay 11, Tuffin 9, Jazul 5, Salado 5, Alejandro 3, Soyud 3, Ular 2, Manganti 2, Daves 2, Camacho 2, Verano 2, Garcia 2.
Meralco 97 – Newsome 18, Quinto 17, Jose 12, Black 12, Cansino 11, Almazan 10, Reyson 6, Rios 5, Caram 2, Torres 2, Hodge 2, Bates 0, Pasaol 0.
Quarters: 31-13; 58-37; 91-68; 109-97.
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