MATTHEW Wright is back in his familiar role as leader of Phoenix Super LPG.
Wright notched 27 points and 10 assists to lead the Fuel Masters to a thrilling 93-92 win over hard-luck TNT yesterday in the PBA Governors Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Wright, seemingly content to take the backseat to Chris Banchero before the latter opted out and eventually joined Meralco, also finished with three steals, the last he converted on a fastbreak layup that proved to be the final go-ahead basket, only 1.3 ticks left.
Using their last timeout, the Tropang Giga designed one final play, with the inbounding Gab Banal issuing what turned out to be an alley-oop pass to Troy Rosario. But an alert Jason Perkins blocked the shot and the final buzzer sounded while the two sides were still trying battling for ball possession.
Phoenix scored its second straight win and first in the tournament resumption to improve to 4-2 and move into a tie for fourth with NLEX, the team it beat in its last match on Christmas Day.
Coach Topex Robison was pleased that his team beat the recent Philippine Cup champion despite losing Banchero and the squad’s limited practice time with new import Dominic Sutton.
“There were a lot of things that happened to our team, but I guess we just stayed the course,” said Robinson. “We focused on the things that we needed to focus on and played our hearts out against a strong team like TNT.”
RJ Jazul came off the bench to score 16 points, while starters Jason Perkins and Sean Manganti had at least 10 points each in making up for a low offensive night from new Sutton, who only had 13 points.
The former Air21 and GlobalPort import, who came in only last Thursday as replacement for injured original reinforcement Paul Harris, also had 10 rebounds. three steals and a block that showcased the defensive mindset he adopted in his first game back.
“It’s always gonna be everybody helping each other out. Our regular scorers might struggle a bit but whoever has a chance to contribute in any way that they can, especially defensively, that’s really much appreciated on this team,” said Robinson.
Mikey Williams finished with 22 points, including 13 in the fourth period, while Aaron Fuller only had 11 points but pulled down a tournament-high 23 rebounds to banner TNT, which absorbed its second straight loss and slipped to 2-4.
It was the lowest losing margin for the Tropa, whose three previous defeats were by a grand total of only eight points. But despite the absence of the injured Poy Erram and Roger Pogoy, they still overcame an early 12-point deficit and even led 85-76 midway in the fourth period.
Phoenix would not be so easily stymied, however, with Jazul stringing up five straight points to spark the fightback.
A triple by Manganti and a three-point play by Sutton fueled that surge before Perkins’ layup cut the deficit to 91-92, still 27 seconds left.
Off a timeout, Jayson Castro went for a drive but Wright was there to tap the ball away and convert the outlet pass for what proved to be the game-winner.
