The Wright Shot

Matthew Wright drives past Ian Sangalang in the first half. —SHERWIN VARDELEON

Coming out of the halftime huddle, Phoenix Petroleum was sluggish and seemed headed for a lackluster night.

Coach Louie Alas averted the downtrend with a stroke of genius in shuffling his men as the Fuel Masters gutted out an 89-87 win over the Magnolia Hotshots in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

“I told them it’s no longer about Xs and Os. I urged them to play with pride,” said Alas after Matthew Wright completed the rise of Phoenix from a deep hole by knocking down the game-clinching step-back trey with 2.3 seconds left.

TNT KaTropa played steadier in the stretch to pull out a 96-92 decision of Barangay Ginebra in the nightcap and tie Rain or Shine for the lead at 3-0.
The Gin Kings took a second straight loss.

Alas acknowledged that his substitution pattern made the difference after going for point guard LA Revilla when the Fuel Masters were struggling to climb out of a 16-point hole.

It was the spark that Phoenix needed as Willie Wilson, James White and Wright played with pure hustle and grit to negate Magnolia’s manpower advantage.

“If we play that way every game, we’ll be tough to beat,” said Wilson after scoring most of his 17 points in the final half for their second win in three games.

Resting for exactly a month after losing the Philippine Cup to San Miguel Beer, the Hotshots showed no traces of rustiness in the import-laced tournament by controlling the tempo in the first three quarters.

Paul Lee, Ian Sangalang and Vernon Macklin repeatedly found gaps in the Phoenix defense before the Fuel Masters simply wore them out in the end.

“We have to follow this up with another good game,” said Alas, whose Fuel Masters next face winless NLEX.