PHOENIX import Donovan Smith bullied his way to the basket for an uncontested layup, leaving smaller Terrafirma defender Brent Paraiso flabbergasted early in the fourth quarter last night.
Waking up from a stupor, the Fuel Masters dumped the hapless Dyip 122-108 for their second win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
The 6-foot-2 Paraiso could only stand his ground and raise both hands under the ring, aware he could do nothing against the hulking 6-foot-10 Smith, who completed a three-point play that gave Phoenix a 96-89 lead with 10:07 to go.
That play also best personified the duel’s story, saved for the opening canto—it was a mismatch.
Streaking Rain or Shine seeks a fifth straight victory when it squares off with Blackwater today at the same venue while Ginebra hopes to make it three in a row against pacesetting NorthPort.
A better showing on the defensive end after trailing by as much as 29-38 and Smith’s overall brilliance propped up his team to a big bounce back from a 105-116 loss to Converge last Dec. 19 and improved to 2-5, according to Fuel Masters coach Jamike Jarin.
“The reason why we won was because of this guy (Smith) on my left. Like what we talked about during the break before the game, we really needed to get it together especially defensively. We were very disappointed in the first and third quarters because we gave up a lot of points,” Jarin said. “It’s still a learning progress for everybody but a lot of credit goes to Smith. I’m just blessed to have him.
“People don’t know because in our last two games before the break, he was sick and he just kept playing with it because he knows he’s very valuable and he’s the best player that we have. He’s a team player and we’re just fortunate and blessed that we have Donovan Smith as our import,” he added.
Terrafirma remained winless in eight outings, counting a 112-124 setback at the hands of the Elasto Painters last Dec. 22.
Smith delivered a game-high 37 points laced with seven rebounds and three assists while Jason Perkins chimed in with 16 markers, two boards, and two dimes.
Young guns Ricci Rivero, Tyler Tio, and Kai Balunggay also did their part with 14, 10, and 10 points, respectively, for the Fuel Masters.
Phoenix grabbed a 60-49 lead at the halfway point it pushed to as much as 67-51 on a Tio and-one conversion at the 9:20 mark of the third period.
But the Dyip trimmed the deficit to 84-88 going into the final stanza.
Reinforcement Brandon Edwards paced Terrafirma with 25 points and 10 caroms while Louie Sangalang added 22 markers and six rebounds.
Paraiso, Mark Nonoy, and Kemark Carino combined for 39 for the Dyip.
Starting the new year with a crucial triumph should serve as a big boost to the Fuel Masters’ mid-conference push for a quarterfinals berth.
