Starters spark rise of Phoenix above Mahindra

Phoenix import Kevinn Pinkney drives against Mahindra's Chito Jaime. KC Cruz

The starting lineup of the Phoenix Fuelmasters combined for 82 points to overwhelm the Mahindra Enforcers, 114-99 on Wednesday at SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

"I'm happy the players were ready to come out in today's ballgame; it all started on the defensive end," said Phoenix coach Koy Banal after the game.

"I'm glad everybody responded. They were challenged. They saw we were at the cellar and they're all challenged about it."

Phoenix moved out of last place with the win, improving its Commissioner's Cup record to 2-3.

Mahindra, meanwhile, fell to 3-3.

Phoenix was on fire in the first half, hitting 34 points in the opening period alone. At the half, they were able to build a 14-points lead, 61-47.

Their strong performance extended to the third period, as they were able to stretch their advantage to 20-points, 92-72, to cruise to victory.

Three players — import Kevinn Pinkney (23 points), RR Garcia (22), and Willie Wilson (21) — scored at least 20 for Phoenix.

Mick Pennisi and Josh Urbiztondo also added 10 and seven points, respectively.

Mahindra was led by import Augustus Gilchrist, who had a good shooting night, hitting 21 points for an 8-of-14 shooting clip. He also had 12 boards.

Nino Canaleta, meanwhile, had an all-around game, tallying 18 points with nine rebounds and five assists. Karl Dehesa was the only other Enforcer who tallied double figures, stringing 14 points off the bench. —JST, GMA News

The scores:

PHOENIX 114 - Pinkney 23, Garcia 22, Wilson 21, Intal 16, Pennisi 10, Urbiztondo 7, Brondial 5, Lanete 5, Monfort 5, Baracael 0.

MAHINDRA 99 - Gilchrist 21, Canaleta 18, Dehesa 14, Digregorio 8, Pascual 8, Ramos 7, Yee 7, Pinto 6, Jaime 4, Revilla 4, Guinto 2, Alvarez 0, Hubalde 0, Webb 0.

Quarters: 34-23, 61-47, 92-72, 114-99