Fuel Masters shut down NorthPort winning streak with ten-point victory

“Final: 97 – 87 in favor of the Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters! Best Player: Matthew Wright with 28 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists #PBACommsCup #PBALabanKungLaban” (Photo: PBA/Facebook)

Aside from Wright, Richard Howell performed as well with a double-double of 18 points and 15 rebounds. RJ Jazul contributed 17 points, while Jason Perkins and Alex Mallari added 12 and 11 respectively. Because of this victory, Phoenix now stands with a 3-4 win-loss standing.

Batang Pier, on the other stand, has fallen to second place overall with a 7-2 record behind Talk N’ Text, with Mo Tautuaa trying to match Wright’s hot hand with 19 points, followed by Kevin Ferrer and Sean Anthony who added 18 and 16 points respectively amidst the team’s first game without Stanley Pringle. 

Phoenix head coach Louie Alas responded to the win, saying in a mix of English and Filipino, “At least, we beat them in the rebound battle. That was the least amount of rebounds of NorthPort. We’re consistent again with our strength which is rebounding.” He added, “When we look at the stats of NorthPort, one of their main strengths is rebounding. They have so many second-chance points. Their fastbreak points, we weren’t able to totally stop them, but we were able to contain it. And that’s the game.”

However, Coach Louie also revealed the team’s biggest struggle in obtaining the win – the absence of their newly-injured point guard, LA Revilla. He shared, “It’s a grind out game. With LA out of the tournament, we’re forced to play multiple positions and this takes heavily on our guards. Our remaining guards, Jazul and Mallari aren’t really point guards but combo guards. In the first quarter alone, we had 10 turnovers precisely because of that deficiency (point guard). So, now we’re looking at a point guard in the mold of LA.”

Phoenix will continue their search for a replacement point guard as they anticipate their next game against Barangay Ginebra on Friday, June 28 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. NorthPort will attempt to begin their winning streak again at the same venue on July 3, going against Columbian Dyip.