PHOENIX survived the absence of main man Matthew Wright and Alaska's gritty comeback to finally barge into the win column of the PBA Philippine Cup.
Phoenix vs Alaska recap
Vic Manuel torched his former team for 26 points to lead the Fuel Masters to a 101-93 victory Saturday night at the Ynares Sports Arena.
The win couldn't have come at a better time for Phoenix which lost its first two games of the season and was without Wright against the Aces due to a sprained ankle.
“That’s huge. The guys stepped up. Wala nga si Matt. So what’s important is yung tulong ng iba,” said coach Topex Robinson afterwards. “That was a total team effort, the coaches did a good job of preparing us for the game.”
RJ Jazul complemented Manuel with 19 points including 4-of-9 from three-point range, rookie Aljun Melecio had a productive game with 13, while Jason Perkins and Jake Pascual added 12 and 10 apiece for the Fuel Masters.
Phoenix led by as many as 84-61 entering the final quarter, but saw the lead went down to 93-85 in the final minutes, before Manuel came in and scored on a short stab for the final dagger against the Aces.
Gab Banal finished with 17 points to show the way for Alaska, which now lost two in a row after winning its first game against Blackwater on opening day.
The scores
PHOENIX (101) -- Manuel 26, Jazul 19, Melecio 13, Perkins 12, Pascual 10, Rios 9, Garcia 5, Chua 7, Muyang 0, Demusis 0, Tamsi 0.
Alaska (93) -- Banal 17, Tratter 14, Herndon 13, Taha 9, DiGregorio 8, Teng 8, Adamos 7, Brondial 6, Ahanmisi 5, Casio 2, Stockton 2, Marcelino 0.
Quarterscores: 18-26; 53-42; 84-61; 101-93.
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