MANILA, Philippines–Phoenix Pulse carved out a gutsy 97-87 decision over red-hot NorthPort, tabbing a much-needed victory in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup in Wednesday night’s action Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
Matthew Wright came through for the FuelMasters with 28 points and six assists, including a pair of tough triples just when the Batang Pier were trying to mount a comeback.
“You just blank out. I’m just happy my teammates put me in a position to succeed,” Wright said in a televised interview. “We did a much better job [on defense] today. As long as we rotate on defense, scrambling, we have a chance (in winning).”
Coach Louie Alas, though, thought it was his charges’ effort in the glass that pulled them through and propelled them to 3-4 record.
“We’re becoming consistent once again with our strength, which is our rebounding,” coach Louie Alas said. “56 to 46 in rebounding, so [that meant] extra possessions for us.”
Three more from Phoenix’s primary unit registered double-digit scores, including Richard Howell who posted 18 points to go with 15 assists and three steals.
Mo Tautuaa and Kevin Ferrer anchored NorthPort, scoring 19 and 18 points, respectively. Robert Bolick and skipper Sean Anthony both had twin-digit scores off the bench.
“They’re a good team. First place for a reason. But we just had to pick our poison,” Wright said of the new-look Batang Pier who were undefeated in their last four outings prior the match.
The Batang Pier dropped to 7-2 in the midseason conference.
Up next for Phoenix is crowd darling Barangay Ginebra, which is riding on a two-game winning streak. They tangle this Friday at the same venue.
NorthPort’s penultimate assignment is Columbian, which it goes up against a week from now at the Big Dome.
POST-GAME INTERVIEW