ANTIPOLO - Phoenix claimed its first win in the PBA 50th Season Philippine Cup under new coach Willy Wilson, 109-103, keeping reigning champion San Miguel winless on Sunday night at the Ynares Center.
Ricci Rivero, Kai Ballungay, Tyler Tio, and Jason Perkins had outstanding games as the Fuelmasters caught a big fish in no less than the Beermen just two days after losing to two-time 49th Season champion TNT on Friday.
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The Fuelmasters later held their ground after the Beermen slashed a 105-90 deficit down to four in the endgame.
San Miguel continued its flat start to go down to 0-2 after losing to NLEX, 85-84, last Wednesday.
Phoenix ended a 10-game losing streak to the Beermen that dates back to its 110-103 win over San Miguel last November 5, 2020 during the Clark bubble.
“It’s very significant even without talking about the 10-game losing streak. It’s just knowing that we have the ability to beat a champion team like SMB,” said Wilson.
Rivero topscored for Phoenix with 16 points including four in the Fuelmasters’ 14-3 finish to the third quarter. Rivero also had eight points in the fourth quarter when Phoenix posted its biggest lead at 16, 100-84.
To cap his heroics, Rivero nailed two free throws with 59.3 seconds left for a 107-101 lead after San Miguel came to within four points.
Ballungay had 14 points and eight rebounds, Tio added 14 points, and Perkins got 13 points in the Fuelmasters win.
June Mar Fajardo went to work in the third quarter after he suffered a cut above his right eye from an inadvertent elbow by Yousef Taha. The nine-time PBA MVP had eight of his 19 points in that period alone.
He also hauled 22 rebounds, but San Miguel had no answer to Phoenix’s firepower.
Phoenix played without Kenneth Tuffin, who flew to New Zealand for his wedding.
The scores:
Phoenix 109 – Rivero 16, Tio 14, Ballungay 14, Perkins 13, Caperal 9, Nelle 9, Daves 7, Taha 6, Kwekuteye 6, Santos 5, Manganti 5, Escandor 3, Jazul 2, Ando 0.
San Miguel 103 – Fajardo 19, Trollano 18, Perez 17, Cruz 15, Lassiter 9, Rosales 9, Brondial 6, Tiongson 5, Tautuaa 5, Cahilig 0, Miller 0.
Quarters: 27-23; 61-51; 82-74; 109-103.
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