PHOENIX coach Jamike Jarin likened his team’s duel with Converge to a “chess match”– against collegiate rival and FiberXers counterpart Aldin Ayo.
Using guard Encho Serrano as a key piece in their match-up, Jarin and the Fuel Masters had the last laugh last night.
Proving steadier when it mattered most, Phoenix outlasted gritty Converge 106-103 for its second straight win in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Serrano scored on a tough floater that made it 105-103 with 18.7 seconds to go after FiberXers’ import Jamaal Franklin missed on a three-pointer.
Converge still had a lifeline after Tyler Tio made only one of his two free throws in the last 3.5 ticks but Franklin’s last-gasp triple try missed its mark at the buzzer that completed the Fuel Masters’ fiery fightback from a 12-point third quarter deficit.
The 5-foot-11 Serrano scattered a career-high 28 points– all in the second half– to go with two rebounds and two assists for Phoenix, while reinforcement Du’vaughn Maxwell chipped in 19 markers, 15 boards, and three dimes.
Jason Perkins and Tio also had 16 points each for the Fuel Masters, who scored a fitting follow up to a 125-100 thrashing of Terrafirma last Feb. 18 and improved to 3-5.
The FiberXers, coming off a 98-90 triumph over Blackwater four days ago, slipped to 6-3, good for third, in the season-ending tourney.
“We got a good rest coming into this game– that was our advantage. We were ready to go up and down for 48 minutes and that was our advantage. I think they (FiberXers) were a little bit tired towards the end,” Jarin said. “It’s just funny when you look back because we’ve been coaching against each other for the longest time. I’m just so happy we were able to get a win.”
“Coaching against him (Ayo), and really watching it, it was really good. The familiarity not only on me but on him also, it was a good chess match,” he added.
Phoenix fell 42-49 at the half and saw Converge build a 59-47 edge on a Franklin trey at the 7:11 mark of the third stanza before closing in on at 66-69 heading into the payoff period.
Franklin carried the fight for the FiberXers with 30 points, 12 caroms, and seven feeds, while Alec Stockton, Justin Arana, Jeron Teng, Jerrick Balanza, and Kevin Racal got 11 markers each.
