Intal explodes as Phoenix keeps Mahindra winless

MANILA, Philippines – JC Intal had another explosive night with 24 points to lead the Phoenix Fuel Masters to a 114-104 victory over the Mahindra Floodbuster in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup on Sunday, December 4 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Intal also tallied 7 rebounds, 4 assists, two blocks, and had the hot hand as he fired 6-of-9 triples coming off the bench for the now 2-1 Phoenix.

Intal has now had back-to-back 20-point performances after pouring 22 points in an upset win against defending champion San Miguel Beer last week.

“I think he’s more relaxed coming off the bench,” said head coach Ariel Vanguardia. “He spreads the floor. JC can play multiple positions the way we’re playing him now, playing at the 3 and the 4.”

Rookie Matthew Wright likewise caught fire with 5-of-8 shooting from long range for his 21 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Simon Enciso notched 12 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists with 4-of-10 shooting from deep, as Prince Caperal came up with a double-double effort of 12 markers and 17 boards.

Cyrus Baguio and Gelo Alolino had 10 points apiece for the Fuel Masters, who have now won back-to-back games.

Vanguardia, however, could not smile at the post-game presser, saying he was aching to have a stern conversation with his team in the locker room after they relaxed in the fourth and allowed Mahindra to trim the deficit to a single digit.

The Floodbuster, who are having a disappointing start and have yet to win in 3 games, sliced a 30-point lead down to just 7 in the span of 9 minutes in the payoff period.

“I wasn’t too happy the way we ended this game,” said Vanguardia, whose team shot 17-of-42 from beyond the arc as opposed to Mahindra’s 3-of-21. “That should’t be the case, we should always be attacking and playing defense.”

Mahindra lost despite having 7 players in double figures led by Alex Mallari’s 19 points and 4 rebounds off the bench. Philip Paniamogan poured all 15 of his output in the first half while Ryan Araña and Joseph Eriobu had 12 points each.

Mark Yee had 11 points and 7 rebounds while Jeckster Apinan and Reden Celda combined for 20 points.

The Floodbuster have developed a bad habit early in the season of falling behind big and trying to come back at the last minute.

Scores:

Phoenix (114): Intal 24, Wright 21, Enciso 12, Caperal 12, Baguio 10, Alolino 10, Torres 8, Lanete 7, Borboran 4, W.Wilson 3, Miranda 2, Javillonar 1, J.Wilson 0, Hayes 0.

Mahindra (104): Mallari 19, Paniamogan 15, Arana 12, Eriobu 12, Yee 11, Apinan 10, Celda 10, Nimes 6, Guevarra 5, Escoto 2, Revilla 2, Ballesteros 0, Deutchman 0, Salva 0.

Quarter scores: 32-23, 60-43, 95-68, 114-104.

– Rappler.com