Struggling Phoenix going all-out for top 2 finish

Phoenix’s Ed Daquioag. PBA IMAGES

Losing on a last-second shot won’t keep Ed Daquioag and the rest of the suddenly struggling Phoenix Accelerators down for long.

The Accelerators aim to quickly put their 90-88 loss to Racal behind as they shift their sights on their last couple games in the elimination round hoping to still come away with a top two finish heading into the playoffs.

“Sabi lang sa amin ni coach, sa game naman talaga may nananalo, may natatalo. Ang kailangan lang namin gawin ipanalo namin yung last two games namin kasi yun na yung magde-determine if makakakuha pa kami ng twice-to-beat,” said Daquioag, who would’ve been the hero if not for Philip Paniamogan’s 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds left that won it for the Tile Masters on Tuesday.

The former University of Santo Tomas standout buried a clutch triple that gave Phoenix an 88-87 edge with 11.9 ticks remaining before Paniamogan answered back that sent the Accelerators reeling to their second straight setback and a 7-3 mark.

Making matters worse, Phoenix held an 81-73 buffer after a Gryann Mendoza three with 5:16 left before Racal, behind Joseph Terso and Paniamogan, closed the game on a 17-3 run.

“Kami na yung lamang pero kami pa yung nagmamadali. Minamadali namin yung mga possessions so isa yon sa mga lapses namin nung huli which hindi dapat nangyari kasi nga lamang kami,” Daquioag told INQUIRER.net.

Phoenix wraps up its elimination round against Blustar exactly a week from now and rival Cafe France on Aug. 4.

“Kailangan na namin kalimutan itong game na ‘to kasi tapos na ‘to so focus na lang kami sa remaining games namin. Kailangan namin ipanalo yon.”