MANILA, Philippines – The Phoenix Fuel Masters had just enough gas left in the tank to fend off the Blackwater Elite en route to a conference-opening 107-102 triumph in the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, April 25. 

James White finished with 31 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 blocks and two steals as the Fuel Masters held on to the victory despite squandering a 22-point cushion. 

Phoenix held a 42-20 lead in the second quarter before the Elite slowly climbed their way back into the contest, eventually knotting the score at 98-all off a Mac Belo triple with 2:30 minutes left in the game. 

However, a White putback dunk off a Matthew Wright miss and a Willie Wilson and-one play gave the upper hand back to the Fuel Masters, 103-98. 

A Mike Digregrio trey with 1:19 left in the game kept the comeback door ajar for Blackwater but a Wright layup 13 seconds after preserved the victory for Phoenix.

“Very hard win ‘yun guys but we’ll take it,” said Phoenix head coach Louie Alas. 

Although heaving a huge sigh of relief, Alas acknowledge loosing big leads has been a flaw of the team since the Philippine Cup.

“Actually ‘yun din ‘yung sakit namin last conference e, toughness na talaga e, hindi ko maituro ‘yung toughness, especially mentally,” said Alas. “But siguro, habang dumadami yung laro, makukuha din namin yung ganoong mentality.”

(The lack of toughness has been a probelm of the team since last conference and I cannot teach toughness, especially if it is mental toughness. But probably, when the conference goes on, we might be able to achieve that mentality.)

Wright chalked up 19 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals while Justin Chua chipped in 17 points, 9 rebounds and two steals in the win. 

Import Jarid Famous had 19 points and 16 rebounds to pace the Elite, who remained winless in two games. 

Roi Sumang had 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists while Belo scattered 19 points in the loss.  

The Scores:

Phoenix (107): White 31, Wright 19, Chua 17, Chan 11, Wilson 10, Jazul 9, Revilla 3, Mendoza 3, Perkins 2, Kramer 2, Eriobu 0

Blackwater (102): Sumang 20, Famous 19, Belo 19, Maliksi 11, DiGregorio 11, Palma 7, Erram 6, Jose 6, Pinto 3, Marcelo 0, Sena 0

Quarter scores: 31-17, 56-39, 75-69, 107-102

– Rappler.com