Phelps delivers as Phoenix closes in on q’finals spot

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EUGENE Phelps and Cyrus Baguio glued Phoenix together in the face of a gritty charge by Star for a crucial 106-93 victory Friday in the PBA Governors Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Phelps scattered 15 of his 45 points and Baguio eight of his 11 in the fourth period, enabling the Fuel Masters to muster a sustained attack against a Hotshots crew that refused to quit despite falling behind by 20 in the previous quarter.

In the end, Phoenix notched a second straight triumph to jack its win-loss record to an even 4-4 and enhance its chances of making it among the eight teams advancing to the quarterfinals following the 11-game eliminations.

Coach Ariel Vanguardia was simply glad his team was able to withstand what is probably struggling Star’s toughest stand this conference and deal the latter a fifth straight loss that relegated it to a 1-7 slate.

“We have high respect for Star, they’re a Grand Slam team,” said Vanguardia, who took over from Koy Banal before the conference started and now has surpassed the three wins Phoenix notched in its Commissioner’s Cup debut.

“Honestly, even if we were up 20 I was still scared because I know they can come back any time.”

Star nearly did, using a season-best 19-0 run spanning the last two quarters to whittle what was a 57-77 deficit to just a single point.

But when Baguio scored on a layup to snap the drought Phoenix regained momentum that was fueled even more when Simon Enciso boomed in his first basket of the game, a triple from a 92-88 count.

“Good thing in the fourth quarter we buckled down to work,”said Vanguardia. “We were able to make crucial stops and we hit shots.”

Joel Wright notched 29 points and 11 rebounds to lead Star, which now needs to win all its remaining games against Meralco, TNT KaTropa and Rain or Shine just to tie for eighth spot or else see its 15-conference playoffs stint come to an end.

Phoenix, meanwhile, still has Blackwater, Alaska and Barangay Ginebra left in its elims assignments and Vanguardia believes one more win out of those games would cement his team’s hold on a quarterfinals slot.

“Hopefully we can gut it out,” said Vanguardia. “The team is maturing and I’m praying that we’re peaking at the right time.”

The likes of Willy Wilson and Ronjay Buenafe also helped in Phoenix’s fourth win in its last five games with 13 and 11 markers, respectively.

The two, along with Josh Urbiztondo, Mark Cruyz and Baguio, were among those who complemented Phelps’ post game with at least one of the Fuel Masters’ 10 triples.

Mark Barroca and PJ Simon backstopped Wright with 12 and 11 points and joined their import, Allein Maliksi, Alex Mallari and Justin Melton in an alternating mix of small ball that waged the uprising and caught Vanguardia by surprise.

“Coach Jason (Webb)had a brilliant move when he went with a small lineup,” admitted Vanguardia. “We weren’t ready. This was also the first time my team had a 20-point lead and I didn’t know what to do. It was my fault that they caught up.”

The run was in stark contrast to Star’s stand earlier in the third quarter, when it seemed totally at a loss on how to counter Phoenix’s inside-out game that enabled the Fuel Masters to pad a 56-47 halftime lead to 73-56. Phelps’back-to-back fastbreak baskets pegged the game’s biggest difference at 77-57, still 4:38 left in the period.

Phelps already had 24 points and eight rebounds in the first half, boosting Phoenix’s charge to early leads of 40-25 and 50-35.

But Wright was not left too far behind after scoring just two points on two attempts in the opening quarter. He started racking up 13 points in the second period to help Star keep within nine at the break.

Inadvertently helping the Hotshots’cause were the Fuel Masters themselves as they committed 13 of their 15 first half turnovers, five off Phelps, in the second canto from which the former drew 13 points.

Star’s chances looked dim when Ian Sangalang went out with a left ankle sprain with still 9:00 left in the second quarter. Before landing on former teammate Norbert Torres’ foot he was going great guns for the
Hotshots, notching eight points and grabbing three rebounds in just over seven minutes.

A portent of things to come for Phoenix was had when Urbiztondo boomed in a triple from just past the halfcourt line to give the Fuel Masters a 32-19 lead after the first 12 minutes of play.

The Scores:

PHOENIX 106 – Phelps 45, W. Wilson 13, Baguio 11, Buenafe 11, Lee 8, Cruz 6, Lanete 4, Enciso 3, Urbiztondo 3, Miranda 2, Borboran 0, Caperal 0, Torres 0, J. Wilson 0.
STAR 93 – Wright 29, Barroca 12, Simon 11, Sangalang 8, Garcia 7, Yap 7, Maliksi 5, Brondial 4, Mallari 4, Melton 2, Pascual 2, Pingris 2, Reavis 0.

Quarters: 32-19, 56-47, 77-72, 106-93.

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