At the half, Phoenix Pulse coach Louie Alas called the attention of his player to play defense.
The Fuel Masters did more than that at the resumption of play, playing defense and exploding for 45 points in the third quarter en route to a 111-103 drubbing of the Barangay Ginebra Kings in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Friday night.
Richard Howell and his teammates responded big time even when Alas was already out of the game, ejected on technical infractions midway through the fourth.
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And thus the Fuel Masters caught up with the Gin Kings and the Alaska Milk Aces at fourth place on their identical 4-4 win-loss cards.
Alas threw all the credit to his deputy Topex Robinson and to his players.
"Credit to Topex, to the other members of the coaching staff and my leaders on the floor. Kaya nga hindi assistant, kung hindi associate ang title ni Topex because he's very capable," said Alas.
For his ejection, Alas said it was a calculated stunt as he felt the occasion called for it.
"Tingin ko nung pagkakataon na yon, kailangan iba muna ang mag-handle ng team to fire up the boys," he said.
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"There were instances na mali ang tawag pero sa parehong sides naman. In general, ok naman (ang officiating)," he also said.
He expected a heavy fine, though, for his technical fouls. "Yung lang medyo mahal," Alas said.
Phoenix Pulse wiped out a 12-point halftime deficit on a big 45-point explosion in the third quarter and played tough all the way to the finish to thwart Barangay Ginebra.
With Richard Howell and Matthew Wright leading their amazing charge, the Fuel Masters pounced on the Kings, 45-25, in the third period then hung tough in the windup to move to the upper half of the standings.
Howell and his teammates responded well to Robinson as Phoenix foiled Ginebra's crack at a second straight win since the arrival of Stanley Pringle.
Wright top scored with 32 points while Howell came through with a 30-20 game with 31 markers and 21 boards on top of four steals and three assists.
Jason Perkins and Justin Chua also played stellar roles as the Fuel Masters hit the .500 mark with three games left in the elims.
Their last three assignments are Columbian Dyip, San Miguel Beer and NLEX.(SB)
The scores:
Phoenix 111 - Wright 32, Howell 31, Perkins 18, Chua 12, Jazul 6, Mallari 4, Intal 3, Wilson 3, Kramer 2, Marcelo 0, Napoles 0, Dennison 0.
Ginebra 103 - Brownlee 31, Tenorio 20, Aguilar 17, Pringle 12, Thompson 9, Slaughter 6, Mariano 3, Devance 3, Caguioa 2.
Quarterscores: 20-28, 44-56, 89-81, 111-103.
