PBA: Phoenix barely escapes all-Filipino Meralco to remain spotless

Ken Tuffin was steady on the charity stripe to help Phoenix complete a wild 98-97 finish against an undermanned Meralco in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Tuffin sank three of Fuel Masters’ last four free throws as they survived an intense back-and-forth affair against the import-less Bolts to remain unbeaten at 2-0.

He finished with 17 points and seven rebounds while BJ Johnson poured in 26 markers and six boards as the Fuel Masters were able to gut out the win despite wasting a 15-point lead in the first half.

“We just keep talking about being locked in. We kept reminding them that this is almost a lucky break we got that Meralco didn’t have an import,” Phoenix head coach Charles Tiu said.

“We didn’t want it to slip away. But credit to them, they really played well. They could have easily won this game.”

Without reinforcement, Meralco still made life difficult for Phoenix, which was coming off a 98-86 win against Magnolia.

The Bolts rose from dead and turned an early 37-22 deficit into a 56-50 lead at halftime thanks to the hot hands of Allein Maliksi, who shot four triples in the first two quarters.

However, the game became tight since then with Chris Banchero forcing an 85-all deadlock early in the fourth period. Brandon Bates gave Meralco a slim 91-90 lead but back-to-back baskets from Ricci Rivero and Jason Perkins swung the momentum back to Phoenix for a 94-91 edge.

CJ Cansino completed a three-point play before Hodge converted a layup and Bates split his free throws off a Perkins foul as the Bolts cruised to a crucial 97-94 lead in the final 1:19.

Phoenix became aggressive with Tuffin and Johnson each knocking down a free throw off a foul from Jansen Rios and Cansino, respectively, as the Fuel Masters pulled within a point, 97-96.

A loose-ball battle between Newsome and Tuffin underneath the basket resulted in a foul on the Meralco guard, sending Tuffin to the free-throw line. The Phoenix forward calmly knocked down both charities to put the Fuel Masters back in front, 98-97, with just 13.4 seconds remaining.

Meralco ultimately lost after Cansino missed a layup and Perkins secured the offensive rebound.

Scores:

Phoenix 98 – Johnson 26, Rivero 20, Tuffin 17, Perkins 13, Ballungay 6, Chua 6, Gozum 4, Tio 3, Santos 3, Delos Santos 0, Reavis 0.

Meralco 97 – Cansino 18, Maliksi 16, Bates 14, Hodge 13, Almazan 10, Brickman 6, Newsome 6, Banchero 4, Black 4, Quinto 2, Magbuhos 2, Mocon 2, Rios 0.

Quarters: 31-22, 50-56, 73-75, 98-97.

—JKC, GMA News