Phoenix Fuel Masters. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Phoenix experienced a pair of memorable firsts on Sunday night.
The top-seeded Fuel Masters picked up their first win in the playoffs with a 91-76 romp of the Alaska Aces and booked their maiden trip to the semifinals as well.
They hope to continue their celebration for as long as they could.
After all, the breakthrough only got them raring for more.
“We cannot afford to be satisfied at this point,” said Phoenix head coach Louie Alas in Filipino.
“The war is just about to begin. That’s what I wrote on our board. This is just like the tip of the iceberg so we have to stay humble and keep working hard.”
Phoenix will face either defending champion San Miguel Beer or perennial contender TNT in a best-of-seven semifinals series.
The KaTropa on Monday got back at the Beermen to force a Game 3 which will be played on Wednesday.
And whichever team the Fuel Masters end up playing against isn’t going to matter as far as swingman Matthew Wright is concerned.
“We gotta beat the best teams to win a championship. We’re not gonna waltz our way to the finals and win a championship easily,” Wright said. “We’re gonna go against Talk N Text, we’re gonna go against Rain or Shine, we’re gonna go against San Miguel, we’re gonna go against Ginebra, Magnolia.”
“There’s no easy route to the Finals. We’re not avoiding anybody. So we gotta go through these teams.”