IN the eyes of Phoenix star forward Jason Perkins, the Fuel Masters' breakout performance in the Philippine Cup bubble should make the franchise among the team to watch this coming PBA 46th season.
Without sounding cocky, Perkins believes the Fuel Masters can now be considered a legitimate title contenders.
"Yes, definitely," Perkins told PBA.ph.
"We played to win. All of the guys in our team worked harder. We're playing with a chip on our shoulder and we're hungry. Me, Matt (Wright) and a lot of the guys, we haven't achieved anything yet. We're still young and we're hungry, so we will continue to bang in the door of success until it happens."
Perkins had a solid performance in last year's bubble tournament, averaging close to a double-double of 19.09 and 9.45 rebounds per game. His solid showing made him a candidate for the Most Improved Player award.
With coach Topex Robinson at the helm, Phoenix reached the Final Four of last year's lone conference and came a win away from advancing to the Finals but lost to the TNT Tropang Giga in the deciding fifth of their semifinal duel.
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Perkins though remains upbeat of the team's chances this season after Phoenix improved its roster by acquiring blue chip players Vic Manuel from Alaska and guard Chris Banchero from Magnolia in a separate trade.
"Not to sound cocky, but I'm extremely confident that we're eventually gonna get there because we put the work in," offered Perkins as the team sets sights on its first ever championship appearance in franchise history. (RJ)
