PBA: Phoenix off to 2-0 start after thumping Blackwater
Phoenix guard Chris Banchero. PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—Phoenix raced to its second consecutive win, 110-99, and sent Blackwater to deeper levels of misery in the 2021 PBA Governors’ Cup Saturday at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
The Fuel Masters joined Alaska and NLEX atop the standings at 2-0 while the Bossing, who dropped to a 0-2 slate in the conference, slid to their 21st straight defeat stemming from the 2020 Philippine Cup.
Article continues after this advertisementQuick to assert themselves, the Fuel Masters wasted no time in establishing a buffer between them and Blackwater taking a 10-point lead, 28-18, at the end of the first quarter.
Ambilis ni Banchero! 53-45 PHX sa simula ng 3q #PBAiTuloyAbgLaban pic.twitter.com/NJjCZvOqsj
— PBA (@pbaconnect) December 11, 2021
The Bossing tried to chip away at the lead getting to as close as four, 74-70, in the third only for Phoenix to pull away with a 13-4 run in between the latter two quarters for an 87-74 lead off of Sean Manganti’s layup barely a minute into the fourth.
Article continues after this advertisementWhile two straight wins is a promising start, Phoenix head coach Topex Robinson said it’s too early to tell how far they will go this conference.
“We have nine more games to go and two wins will get you nowhere, we just want to make sure we get one win every time we play,” said Robinson. “We want to play aggressive, we don’t focus on what the other teams will do. What we have control of is how we play.”
Chris Banchero finished with 23 points, five rebounds, and seven assists to lead Phoenix while Paul Harris added 19 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists, and one block.
Manganti and Simon Camacho also finished in double figures with 17 and 10 points, respectively.
Jaylen Bond had 18 points and 15 rebounds for Blackwater.
