Phoenix stuns Meralco for 1st win; Converge wallops Blackwater by 31

MANILA, Philippines, April 14 ------ The Phoenix Fuel Masters barged into the winning column of the PBA Philippine Cup after pulling off a 109-97 upset of the defending champion Meralco Bolts at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. The Fuel Masters got solid performances from their young stars Tyler Tio and Ricci Rivero, as well as the returning Jason Perkins, as they picked up their first victory in style after a 0-2 start to the season-ending conference.  

Tio led all scorers with 22 points, while Rivero poured in 20 markers on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting from three-point land. Meanwhile, Perkins — who missed the Fuel Masters’ first two games due to an illness — wasted no time making an impact, putting up 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting, along with 5 rebounds. “We’re all doing the right things, but we just couldn’t get the results we wanted,” said Phoenix head coach Jamike Jarin of the team’s slow start to the Philippine Cup. “So we talked about it. The answer to all those questions was having fun. Probably we were just pressuring ourselves too much,” he added.  

Playing with no pressure this time, Phoenix dominated Meralco right from the get-go, building a huge 31-13 lead at the end of the opening period. Rivero set the tone early for the Fuel Masters as he dropped 14 of his 20 points in the first quarter alone, outscoring the whole Bolts squad. Despite multiple runs by Meralco, Phoenix never let go of its double-digit cushion the rest of the way, even pushing it to as many as 26 points, 90-64, late in the third quarter.  

Chris Newsome finished with 18 points, while Bong Quinto chipped in 17 for the Bolts. who suffered their second straight loss for a 2-2 slate. Like the Fuel Masters, the Converge FiberXers showed the Blackwater Bossing no mercy as they cruised to a 111-80 mauling in the second game. It was a total team effort for Converge as all 14 players fielded in by coach Franco Atienza managed to score, with Justin Arana leading all five double-digit FiberXers scorers with 19. Schonny Winston and Justine Baltazar backstopped Arana with 16 points each, Rey Suerte added 11, while Bryan Santos had 10.  

On the other side, RK Ilagan paced Blackwater with 19 points, while Richard Escoto came up with 11. Converge’s stifling defense held Blackwater big man Christian David scoreless the entire game after the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 PBA Draft erupted for a career-best 31 points in the Bossing’s previous outing. The FiberXers also put the clamps on high-scoring Bossing guard Sedrick Barefield, who finished with only 5 points on an awful 1-of-10 shooting. Converge improved its record to 2-2, while Blackwater fell to a 0-2 card.   

The Scores 

First game 

Phoenix 109 – Tio 22, Rivero 20, Perkins 19, Ballungay 11, Tuffin 9, Salado 5, Jazul 5, Alejandro 3, Soyud 3, Garcia 2, Verano 2, Ular 2, Daves 2, Camacho 2, Managanti 2. 

Meralco 97 – Newsome 18, Quinto 17, Jose 12, Black 12, Cansino 11, Almazan 10, Reyson 6, Rios 5, Caram 2, Torres 2, Hodge 2, Pasaol 0, Bates 0. 

Quarters: 31-13, 58-37, 91-68, 109-97. 

Second game 

Converge 111 – Arana 19, Winston 16, Baltazar 16, Suerte 11, B. Santos 10, Garcia 9, Delos Santos 7, Racal 5, Stockton 4, Fleming 4, Caralipio 4, Corpuz 3, R.Santos 2, Nermal 1. 

Blackwater 80 – Ilagan 19, Escoto 11, Chua 9, Tungcab 9, Caperal 7, Kwekuteye 6, Barefield 5, Jopia 4, Guinto 3, Andrade 3, Ayonayon 2, Mitchell 2, Casio 0, Mallilin 0, David 0. 

Quarters: 21-24, 49-38, 81-53, 111-80.    

Source: rappler.com