PBA: Phoenix pulls away late, sinks Blackwater to third loss in a row

Phoenix broke the game wide open late to pull off a 102-93 win against Blackwater and barge back into the win column of the PBA Season 50 Governors' Cup on Tuesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Jason Perkins and Ricci Rivero starred for the local unit while import BJ Johnson poured in his usual numbers to help the Fuel Masters improve to 4-1 and retake the Group B leadership.

Perkins was stellar all throughout the game with 25 points, including 11 in the first half, together with six rebounds and one assist while Rivero flirted with a triple-double of 10 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds to bounce back from a third-quarter ejection he committed against Rain or Shine.

Johnson dazzled with a double-double effort of 23 points and 12 rebounds as the Fuel Masters piled on the growing woes of the Bossing.

"They're a really different team right now under coach Pat. He's done a really good job. They're believing in each other, they're playing hard, they're playing fast," Phoenix head coach Charles Tiu said.

"I think one of our goals was to stop them from running, their transition offense, and we were able to do that. Credit the guys, we were able to get some stops. It was a tough [game], but we battled."

Blackwater, which entered the game on a two-game skid after an impressive 2-0 start, stayed within striking distance of Phoenix through the first three quarters before the Fuel Masters gradually pulled away in the fourth.

A Johnson jumper followed by a Gian Mamuyac corner triple gave Phoenix an 88-80 cushion, but Mamuyac's foul on RK Ilagan while attempting a three-pointer handed Blackwater three free throws, cutting the deficit to five.

Rivero then brought Phoenix to a 94-83 cushion after dishing a pass that led to a layup for Johnson and sinking a pair of freebies. Johnson provided the finishing blow, hitting an elbow jumper and completing a putback basket off his own miss to give the Fuel Masters a 98-87 advantage in the final 2:16.

Blackwater staged another desperate comeback attempt when import Kentrell Barkley hit three straight free throws and knocked down a bucket to trim the gap to seven, 100-93, with 16.6 ticks to go. But that was the closest the Bossing could get as Phoenix soared to its fourth win in five games.

Barkley did it all to lead the way for Blackwater with 36 points, 25 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block while RK Ilagan churned out 25 markers, seven boards, and four dimes before fouling out late.

Blackwater also gave up 32 fouls, which resulted in 29 free throws for Phoenix.

Scores:

Phoenix 102 – Perkins 25, Johnson 23, Mamuyac 18, Rivero 10, Tio 8, Escandor 6, Tuffin 6, Ballungay 2, Delos Santos 2, Chua 2, Santos 0, Cullar 0.

Blackwater 93 – Barkley 36, Ilagan 20, Barefield 10, Austria 8, Panopio 7, Tratter 4, Una 4, Mallilin 2, Mendoza 2, Murrell 0.

Quarters: 20-22, 54-53, 78-72, 102-93.

—JKC, GMA News