ANTIPOLO, Philippines – Justin Chua and Phoenix may have toppled TNT to remain unbeaten in the 2019 PBA Philippine Cup, but he didn’t exactly go out unscathed. 

The 29-year-old big man was on the receiving end of a punch from the KaTropa’s Mike Miranda late in the Fuel Masters’ 93-84 overtime triumph on Saturday, January 19.

Phoenix led 91-82 with barely 15 seconds left and with the verdict already decided before Miranda landed a closed fist on Chua’s abdomen area right after he scored a layup. 

Interestingly, Chua saw the punch coming. 

“Sabi niya akin daw, nananahod daw ako noong game eh pero kung reviewhin, wala naman akong ginagawa (He was telling me that I was trying to undercut him, but if you review the game, I wasn’t doing anything),” Chua, who finished with 7 points and 9 rebounds, told reporters after the game.

“Inabangan ko na lang kasi ‘yung tumira pa lang siya, alam ko titirahin niya na ako eh  (I just waited for him to do it because after he scored, I already knew he would hit me).”

Chua fell to the ground following the punch. Miranda was immediately tossed out of the court and could face a fine.

But Chua said no serious damage was done, and he was just glad that Phoenix remained composed in the win, which is their second via overtime this conference. 

“Learning experience na kami conferences before, usually pag OT, natatalo kami, hindi kami nakaka-close ng game. Ngayon, at least, nakikita na nag-i-improve na,” he said.

(We’ve already learned from conferences before. Usually, we lose games that reach overtime and we weren’t capable of closing out such games. At least now, we’re seeing improvements.) 

Miranda begged off when asked by reporters to be interviewed. – Rappler.com