Phoenix guard RJ Jazul.–PBA PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–Phoenix picked NLEX apart with methodical precision on Saturday afternoon for a 112-77 victory in the PBA Philippine Cup.
The Fuel Masters, despite missing a handful of reliables, played with sustained brilliance at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City to recover from a sorry loss to Magnolia last week while keeping themselves in contention for a playoff spot with a 3-5 record.
RJ Jazul had 19 points off the bench, rookie Kenneth Tuffin chipped in 17 while Jjay Alejandro, Kent Salado and Jason Perkins all finished with at least 10 points each in the unlikely rout of the Road Warriors, who came into the contest having lost only two of their seven games in the centerpiece tournament.
SCHEDULE: 2024 PBA Philippine Cup
The blowout also saw the petrol club turn in its biggest winning margin in the Philippine Cup which also spoke volumes as Phoenix were dealing with the absences of rising star Tyler Tio and forward Sean Manganti.
NLEX, reeling from a narrow loss to sister team TNT, got the goods from Enoch Valdez, who scored 16 points. Jhan Nemal chipped in 12 more into the losing stand that had the Frankie Lim-mentored crew slide to 5-3 (win-loss).
Robert Bolcik, the spitfire guard who is also the early leader the Best Player of the Conference derby, only managed to finish 11 points, joining Baser Amer and Tony Smerad.
Phoenix will try to get a streak going when it battles a Tropang Giga side eager to rid themselves the sour taste of falling short against Barangay Ginebra last Friday night.
NLEX, meanwhile, battles the mighty San Miguel Beermen next.
The Scores:
PHOENIX 112 – Jazul 19, Tuffin 17, Alejandro 16, Salado 11, Perkins 10, Camacho 8, Rivero 8, Mocon 6, Garcia 6, Daves 3, Verano 3, Muyang 3, Lalata 2, Soyud 0
NLEX 77 – Valdez 16, Nermal 12, Bolick 11, Amer 11, Semerad 11, Fajardo 11, Herndon 3, Anthony 1, Napoles 1, Pascual 0, Nieto 0, Pascual 0, Rodger 0
Quarterscores: 24-17, 51-39, 79-62, 112-77.
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