PHOENIX Super LPG clinched twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals after beating Meralco, 93-83, on Wednesday in the PBA 48th Season Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The Fuel Masters continued to make waves by improving to 8-2 win-loss, adding the quarterfinal incentive to their list of accomplishments as the surprise package of this season-ending conference.
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Jason Perkins waxed hot from the outside in the first half, and Johnathan Williams took over in the second to deal Meralco its third loss in 10 games, enabling Magnolia to secure the No. 1 seed in the quarterfinals.
Perkins scored 16 of his 22 points in the first half while nailing four threes in the game, allowing Phoenix to grab a 54-47 lead.
Williams scored 11 of his 19 points in the second half, and grabbed 15 rebounds for Phoenix, which got a three-pointer from RJ Jazul to increase the lead to 91-83 and neutralize Meralco’s comeback bid.
Phoenix built a 31-16 lead late in the first quarter, the largest of the game.
Despite securing the twice-to-beat, Phoenix coach Jamike Jarin said there’s no time to relax as it plays TNT in its final eliminatio- round game.
“This is a big win for us but we don’t play in the playoffs. We still need to play TNT,” said Jarin. “We are going to prepare for TNT. We are still blind right now because we don’t know who we are going to match up with in the playoffs.”
The Bolts, who got 19 points and nine rebounds from Shonn Miller, dropped to 7-3 and are now tied with idle San Miguel and Barangay Ginebra for third place with Terrafirma still on their schedule.
The scores:
Phoenix 93 – Perkins 22, Williams 19, Tio 15, Jazul 13, Tuffin 6, Mocon 5, Rivero 5, Alejandro 4, Manganti 2, Verano 2, Soyud 0, Garcia 0, Daves 0, Camacho 0.
Meralco 83 – Miller 19, Banchero 15, Newsome 13, Quinto 10, Black 8, Almazan 8, Hodge 5, Rios 5, Caram 0, Maliksi 0, Pascual 0, Bates 0.
Quarters: 31-19; 54-47; 78-66; 93-83.
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