GIVING up after a numbing loss in the opening match of the quarterfinals would have been the convenient choice if it was any other team other than Phoenix.
There were no three overtimes last night, only a game where the Fuel Masters took to heart the lessons they learned against the hard-fighting Meralco Bolts.
Phoenix succeeded where it failed the last time out and turned back Meralco 84-88 in their knockout Last Eight duel to advance to the semifinals of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
For a while, the do-or-die tiff appeared to be de javu of their 107-116 3OT loss in the first game for the charges of Fuel Masters coach Jamike Jarin whose face was evidently anxious after the Bolts razed a 62-77 deficit at the start of the final stanza.
A Cliff Hodge three-point play pulled Meralco to within 73-77 that capped an 11-0 blitz with 8:21 to go.
Phoenix, however, held its ground the rest of the way, thanks to big hits from import Johnathan Williams, Jason Perkins, and rookie Kenneth Tuffin to forge a best-of-5 semis showdown with eliminations pacesetter Magnolia.
Defending champion Ginebra and San Miguel Beer tangle in the other Final Four clash beginning this Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“We’re a young team so we’re allowed to make mistakes. One is enough, two is too much. Three cannot be,” Jarin said, whose team reached the semis for the first time since the 2020 Philippine Cup bubble in Clark. “We lost to TNT, we lost to Meralco, and then this is the third game so one is enough, two is too much, three cannot be. We lived by that.
“It’s not about me. Credit goes to everyone. We all worked our butts off, especially Perkins. He makes me look good. The fairytale continues,” added Jarin, who drew game-highs of 21 points and 16 rebounds from Williams, while Perkins chipped in 19 markers, 13 boards, and two assists.
RJ Jazul and Tuffin also had 13 and 10 points, respectively for Phoenix.
The Fuel Masters took a 55-43 lead at the halfway mark.
The Bolts last threatened at 81-85 on a Hodge basket but Williams and Perkins canned four combined free throws in the endgame that sealed the triumph for Phoenix.
Hodge paced Meralco with 15 points, six caroms, and three dimes, while Chris Newsome added 15 and four.