BACK in form, Phoenix rebounded from a shock loss to trip Tanduay Rhum, 108-95, and grabbed the solo lead at 6-1 in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup Tuesday at Ynares Sports Arena.
“I think we saw the change in the team,” said Phoenix coach Eric Gonzales, who rued his Accelerators’ complacency in their first loss against Racal, 93-78, over a week ago.
Ed Daquioag pumped in 13 of his game-high 27 points in the final quarter, while Mac Belo also stepped up at crunch time by dropping 11 of his 16 points in the closing minutes.
Earlier, Racal showcased its firepower anew with a 59-point thrashing of Topstar ZC Mindanao, 124-65.
Jonathan Grey struck early to finish with 19 points as the Tile Masters came close—for the second time this conference—to matching the biggest winning margin in the league.
“We were able to get a good lead early and never gave it up,” said coach Caloy Garcia.
The huge winning margin was just five points shy of the 64-point record NLEX set in its 125-61 whipping of Zambales M-Builders on Jan. 30, 2014.
Before dealing Phoenix its first loss, the Tile Masters rolled past Blustar by a whopping 62 points, 122-60, last June 21.
The scores:
RACAL 124—Grey 19, Banal 17, Celiz 17, Neypes 9, Terso 9, Javier 8, Paniamogan 8, Amboludto 6, Corpuz 6, Gabawan 6, Ortuoste 6, Robles 5, Lozada 4, Maiquez 4.
TOPSTAR ZC MINDANAO 65—Jumao-as 16, Ignacio 9, Garcia 8, Tano 8, Dadjilul 6, Ferrer 6, Argamino 4, Onde 4, Julkipli 2, Rivera 2, Ongteco 0.
Quarters: 31-14, 56-25, 88-53, 124-65