MANILA, Philippines – Did Matthew Wright play his final PBA game for Phoenix? Maybe.

Wright said he is “leaning towards” other options as he saw action for the last time in the PBA Philippine Cup, helping the Fuel Masters snap a five-game skid with an 89-66 win over Converge on Saturday, July 16.

The Filipino-Canadian guard will not suit up for Phoenix in its elimination-round ender against Barangay Ginebra on July 21 as he flies to the United States on Sunday for his wedding scheduled on July 24.

“I don’t want to say final, that’s such a final word. I don’t want to close the door on anything. Could it be? Maybe. Do I have other options? I do. Am I entertaining them? Yes, I am,” said Wright.

“One thing is for sure, I love the PBA. I have a lot of memories here and it was a really good run,” he added. “It was a great journey. If this is my last game, then it’s last game. But if not, I always want to come back.”

“At the end of the day, I look in the mirror and I see a Filipino.”

Talks of Wright leaving the Fuel Masters, the team that picked him in the 2016 PBA Draft, started since late last year as he attracted the interest of teams from the Japan B. League, among other foreign leagues.

Wright stuck around and went on to finish two more PBA conferences: the Governors’ Cup last season and the Philippine Cup this season.

But with his contract with Phoenix expiring in August, Wright said there is a possibility that he would part ways with the team that sees him as its franchise player.

“I’m leaning towards looking at other options. That is all I’m going to stay,” he said.

Change of scenery

Wright also considers playing for other PBA teams.

“I just feel like I need something new and a new change of scenery from Phoenix. No disrespect whatsoever to the organization. It has been a great organization, class act since I got to the league,” he said.

“It has been a great run, great people there from the management all the way down to the ball boys. I’m very thankful that Phoenix drafted me seven years ago.”

Wright and the Fuel Masters almost reached the finals for the first time in franchise history as they went the distance with TNT in the semifinals of the 2020 Philippine Cup only to fall short.

It has not been the same for Phoenix since, with the squad suffering a pair of quarterfinal exit in the two conferences that followed.

The Fuel Masters are on the brink of missing the playoffs this conference as they tote a 3-7 card.

“I think in this juncture of my career, it is about building your legacy. I want to win. I feel like we were right there with Phoenix. We were right on the brink,” Wright said.

“But things happen that are out of our control, that is how it goes with some teams in certain leagues. You have a little window of opportunity where you can be successful, we had our window, we had our chances, we had our shots.”

For Wright, though, basketball is not just about personal accolades.

“I’m trying not to look at success from wins and losses and championships,” Wright said.

“I’m trying to think of success as how many people how I’ve affected possibly, how many kids want to play like me, how many people I can get in front of a TV screen, how many families I can get to watch a live game.”

“Those are the things that are hard to quantify but those mean way more than any Mythical [selection], MVP, championship trophy.” – Rappler.com