Phoenix batters listless NLEX

MANILA, Philippines — Simon Enciso uncorked 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists as the Phoenix Fuel Masters had their way in the second half to blow past the NLEX Road Warriors, 102-91, in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup on Wednesday, January 18 at the Cuneta Astrodome.

Enciso bounced back from a 3-point, one-of-11 shooting performance 10 days ago against Rain or Shine, as his teammates evidently fed him the ball with 7-of-17 field goals that included 5-of-13 shooting from deep. His making shots complemented improved effort defensively in the second half.

“I challenged them. We lost the first quarter on the three-point shots we gave up. We weren’t covering up their shooters well so I told them to do that,” coach Ariel Vanguardia shared his halftime instructions to the team. “I told them to cover the transition baskets. It helped that we made shots.”

JC Intal added 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists but had 6 turnovers as Cyrus Baguio had 13 markers.

Willy Wilson and Matthew Wright each had 12 points, with rookie Wright an assist short of a triple-double with his additional 12 boards and 9 assists. It would have been an unfavorable quadruple-double for him, however, with his 10 turnovers.

Sean Anthony was the lone bright spot for the listless NLEX with 23 points and 8 rebounds. Jonas Villanueva and Raul Soyud had 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Road Warriors, handled for the first time by seasoned coach Yeng Guiao, have stuggled all conference long and are at the bottom of the standings with just two wins in 9 games.

NLEX was severely defeated on the boards, 38-59. And while they produced 34 points off of Phoenix’s 31 turnovers, the Road Warriors still found themselves down by as much as 24 in the game.

The Fuel Masters, on the other hand, are not out of the woods yet despite tying for fourth place with a 5-4 record.

“There’s nothing to celebrate because the other team we’re tied with at 5-4 all defeated us,” Vanguardia said. “Star beat us by 44. We got two crucial games coming up.”

Scores:

Phoenix (102): Enciso 21, Intal 16, Baguio 13, W. Wilson 12, Wright 12, Borboran 7, Lanete 7, Miranda 5, Torres 5, J.Wilson 2, Caperal 2.

NLEX (91): Anthony 23, J. Villanueva 11, Soyud 10, Guinto 9, Alas 8, Rios 6, Lanete 6, Taulava 4, Khobuntin 3, Lastimosa 3, Monfort 3, Camson 2, E. Villanueva 2, Gotladera 1, Baracael 0.

Quarter scores: 20-22, 53-48, 81-63, 102-91 – Rappler.com