DESPITE the tough loss against San Miguel Beer, Phoenix still came out proud with the effort it gave against its mighty opponent in the team's PBA Governors' Cup debut.
The Fuel Masters dropped a 111-107 loss at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, but not after giving the Beermen a huge scare in the endgame.
San Miguel needed a 37-point, 24-rebound effort from June Mar Fajardo and a clutch four-point shot from CJ Perez in the stretch run to take the fight out of Phoenix.
"You can't be happy with the loss, but you have to be satisfied with the performance because the players played their hearts out," said coach Jamie Jarin in giving tribute to the Fuel Masters.
Phoenix played catch up for most of the game and trailed by as many as 13 points.
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But the Fuel Masters just won't roll over and die, repeatedly stalking the Beermen until the end behind Jason Perkins, sophomore Ricci Rivero, JayJay Alejandro, RJ Jazul, and import Jayveous McKinnis.
The team was actually breathing on the neck of San Miguel with a minute left in the game, 106-105, before Perez hit that crucial 4-point shot with the game clock winding down to make it a five-point contest.
Phoenix still has a chance to send the game into overtime, but Rivero missed a potential 4-point basket in the final 10 seconds.
"They (Fuel Masters) gave it their best. A lot of chances that we could have taken the lead and would have change the outcome, but San Miguel is one of the best teams in the league that if you don't take advantage of those opportunities, they will take advantage," added Jarin.
But the Phoenix coach said San Miguel is now history and looks forward to the team's next game against NLEX on Sunday.
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"We need to rest our bodies and focus on the next game," Jarin said. (RG)
