MANILA, Philippines—Phoenix may be up for a seemingly insurmountable climb down 3-1 against a mighty San Miguel Beer side, but the Fuel Masters are not waving the white flag just yet.
After all, teams have come back facing the same predicament and Phoenix believes it has what it takes to defy the odds.
“We will not give up. I told them, if you have plans to go on a vacation, me, the last thing that I’m going to do is to give up. I won’t give up until the series is over,” said a determined Phoenix head coach Louie Alas after the highly-physical affair that saw two ejections.
Phoenix bounced back in Game 3 after dropping the first two games of the Philippine Cup semifinals series but San Miguel responded in emphatic fashion with a 114-91 beatdown in Game 4 Tuesday night at Cuneta Astrodome.
The Fuel Masters were eager to even the series but the Beermen burst their bubble in the third quarter where they extended an 11-point halftime lead to 26 heading into the final frame.
Terrence Romeo was the difference maker for San Miguel as he shot the lights out with 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting from long range in the third quarter to finish with a game-high 20 points.
“They need four wins to advance. It’s just 3-1 and there’s still a Game 5. We will not give it to them,” said Phoenix guard RJ Jazul.
“They beat us by a big margin tonight but that’s just one game. You win by one point, you lose by 40 points, it’s all the same, it’s just one game.”
The Fuel Masters fight for survival in Game 5 on Thursday night at Cuneta Astrodome.