PBA: Upbeat Charles Tiu says Phoenix 'headed in right direction' despite QF exit

In his first conference at the helm, Charles Tiu immediately turned Phoenix's fortunes around.

Often at the bottom of the standings in the past few conferences, the Fuel Masters enjoyed a resurgence in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner's Cup after scoring impressive wins over contenders Magnolia, Rain or Shine, and defending champion TNT en route to a 6-6 record.

But the odds were stacked heavily against Phoenix in the quarterfinals after drawing twice-to-beat squad Barangay Ginebra San Miguel. The Gin Kings wasted little time imposing their will on the Fuel Masters, breaking the game wide open in the second quarter on the way to a dominant 112-81 victory behind Justin Brownlee, Scottie Thompson, and RJ Abarrientos.

The 31-point loss showed Phoenix the door, but Tiu believed it also opened another as far as their future is concerned.

"Obviously, when you lose a game like this, there’s not too much to be happy about," Tiu, who took over the coaching job just last January, told reporters last Friday.

"They kicked our butts this game. They just outplayed us. We’re happy to make the quarters for the first time in a long time for the franchise."

With a young and promising core in place, Tiu believes Phoenix’s rise is only a matter of time.

Ricci Rivero has blossomed into one of Phoenix’s primary leaders, putting up averages of 19.55 points, 6.18 rebounds, and 3.27 assists this conference. He delivered one of his finest performances against defending champion TNT, exploding for 31 points, including five in overtime, to steer the Fuel Masters to a 100-97 overtime upset victory.

Unfortunately for Phoenix, Rivero sustained a hand injury in that very same game that forced him to sit out the last two games in the elimination round, where the Fuel Masters lost twice in a row to Macau and San Miguel.

Rivero returned in the quarterfinals duel against Ginebra, but his comeback couldn't spark another upset this time out as Phoenix was blown out by Ginebra.

"Obviously it hurts not having Ricci. I’m still thankful na he tried to play today kahit na gano’n ‘yung hand niya, the wound is very much still open but sabi niya ilalaban daw niya. It’s tough to end the conference this way," Tiu added.

(Obviously it hurts not having Ricci. I'm still thankful that he tried to play today even if his hand was in that condition, the wound is very much still open but he said he would fight through it. It's tough to end the conference this way.)

Despite everything that's happened, Tiu is optimistic about his team's future, especially with his talented roster featuring the likes of Ken Tuffin, Evan Nelle, Tyler Tio, Bryan Santos, Jason Perkins, and the injured Kai Ballungay.

"But to me as a coach, obviously we want to build a winning mindset and games like this are unacceptable, painful, but hopefully next conference, we can come back better," Tiu said.

"At least I think we’re headed in the right direction. We played the whole conference without Kai. I mean no excuses, we lost to a much, much better team today and that’s how far we are still in the PBA."

—JMB, GMA News