PHOENIX caged the "Baby Beast" and the rest of hard-luck Columbian to fashion a 108-98 victory Wednesday and grab the PBA Philippine Cup's early lead at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Matthew Wright, Calvin Abueva, Jason Perkins and LA Revilla took turns spearheading the offense while veteran JC Intal led the Fuel Masters' defense that prevented CJ Perez from following up his explosive pro debut.
As a result, Phoenix completed the wire-to-wire win and stayed unbeaten after three games, its best start since joining the league midway in the 2015-16 season.
Yet coach Louie Alas was far from fully pleased after his charges failed to hang on to a 40-21 lead early in the second quarter.
"Kapag nag-li-lead kami ng double figures, bumabalik sa old habit na mag-re-rely kami sa offensive firepower," said Alas.
Sponsored content: "Kaya ang sabi ko sa kanila, 'Manalo tayo because of your defense.' Siguro bata pa sa ganoong sitwasyon."
The 3-0 start is something of a surprise for Alas but he now hopes his team could build on it during the 10-day break it takes before facing Blackwater next.
"Before the conference hindi ko iniisip na 3-0. Wala kasi kaming ipinanalo sa dalawang tuneup na laro, (against NLEX and Rain or Shine), pareho pang blowout losses," related Alas.
"Kaya ang iniisip ko coming to this, makakuha lang ng .500 okay na. Sana madagdagan pa para maka-pondo kami. Hindi pa kasi kami lumalaban sa heavyweights tulad ng Ginebra, San Miguel (Beer), Magnolia."
Phoenix still played some defense, especially against the top pick overall in the last rookie draft, and never allowed Columbian to get closer than five points the rest of the way.
Sponsored content: After introducing himself to the PBA with a 26-point performance in a 124-118 win over defending champion SMB last Friday, Perez was limited to just 10 points on just 11 shots although he added team-highs of eight rebounds and six assists.
Instead, it was fellow rookie JP Calvo who led the Columbian attack with 18 points.
Already playing minus the injured Jerramy King, whose average of 14.9 points led all team locals last season, Columbian suffered another blow when Reden Celda was rushed to a hospital for an MRI test after suffering from a hard, out-of-bounds fall following a foul by Abueva late in the second quarter.
Jackson Corpuz also played through a sprained left ankle he suffered after stepping on Perkins' foot during a drive. He did finish the game but was clearly nowhere near the form that netted him 21 points and 11 rebounds in the SMB game.
Wright wound up with 22 points, Abueva 16 and nine rebounds, Perkins 14 and 11 and Intal and Revilla combined for 25 points with the latter also finishing with a game-high seven assists.
Revilla, set to be married soon to La Salle volleybelle and long-time girlfriend Den-den Lazaro, practically put the game to bed with a triple and a nifty left-handed layup that made it a 102-88 count, only 3:16 left. (NC)
The scores:
Phoenix 108 - Wright 22, Abueva 16, Perkins 14, Intal 13, Revilla 12, Kramer 8, Marcelo 7, Jazul 6, Chua 4, Mendoza 2, Napoles 2, Dennison 2, Mallari 0.
Columbian 98 - Calvo 18, Camson 13, Corpuz 13, McCarthy 10, Perez 10, Reyes 9, Celda 9, Escoto 8, Khobuntin 6, Agovida 2, Cahilig 0, Cabrera 0, Tabi 0.
Quarters: 24-14, 53-47, 82-72, 108-98.
