PHOENIX accomplished in overtime what it failed to do in regulation as it held off Blackwater , 124-120, to get back to its winning ways in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Wednesday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The Fuel Masters wasted an early double-digit lead and almost saw the Elite steal the win at the end of the regulation before proving steady in the extra session to pull off the hard-earned win that snapped a two-game skid and kept its postseason bid alive.
Mac Baracael and Kevinn Pinkney scored the baskets that kept the Fuel Masters afloat in overtime, spoiling Carlo Lastimosa's virtual one-man comeback bid for Blackwater.
“That only brought our team’s character to the next level,” Fuel Masters coach Koy Banal said. “The reminder was to stay positive (in overtime).”
Phoenix, now 3-5 (win-loss), added to the misery of the Elite, who absorbed a fourth straight setback to fall to a 3-7 win-loss record.
After coming up with just two points at halftime, Lastimosa heated up in the second half, firing 14 of his 28 points in the final frame as the prolific playmaker had the chance to pull off a reversal for the Elite by creating a four-point play with 1.1 seconds left.
Lastimosa, however, missed the bonus charity as the game went into overtime.
Baracael and Pinkney finished with 21 points apiece for the Fuel Masters, who banked on eight unanswered points that gave them enough cushion in the extra session to weather another stand by the Elite.
The scores:
PHOENIX 124 – Baracael 21, Pinkney 21, Intal 19, Garcia 18, Wilson 16, Urbiztondo 12, Pennisi 6, Brondial 4, Monfort 4, Lanete 3
BLACKWATER 120 – Lastimosa 28, Dela Cruz 21, Erram 18, Rhett 18, Cortez 13, Reyes 10, Cervantes 4, Pascual 4, Gamalinda 2, Vosotros 2, Bulawan 0
Quarterscores: 20-23, 57-43, 88-77, 109-109, 124-120