No biggie
Coach Charles Tiu and Phoenix are not making a big deal of their 2-0 start in the PBA Governors’ Cup, knowing they are playing in what he described as the tougher of the two groups in the elimination round.
“They keep calling it the ‘Group of Death.’ I like to think that we’re in the tougher side,” Tiu said after the Fuel Masters escaped with a 98-97 victory over the Meralco Bolts on Wednesday, courtesy of Kenneth Tuffin’s two free throws in the final seconds.
The win at the Smart Araneta Coliseum gave Phoenix the early lead in Group B, which is made up of some of the league’s perennial heavyweights.
Extend run
Also in the group are Magnolia, which Phoenix defeated, 98-86, last Saturday in Rodriguez, Rizal, as well as Rain or Shine, Blackwater and Commissioner’s Cup champion Barangay Ginebra.
Phoenix faces Ginebra next on Sunday at the same venue, with a chance to extend its unbeaten run to three games.
Being in this position is nothing new for Tiu and the Fuel Masters.
Phoenix also opened the Commissioner’s Cup with back-to-back victories, a strong start that eventually helped propel the team into the quarterfinals. The Fuel Masters, however, went 4-6 the rest of the way.
“I hope we’ve learned from last conference,” said Tiu. “We were also off to a good start, but had a lot of scares to make the playoffs. We just have to regroup and get ready for Ginebra.”
Tuffin was named Player of the Game after finishing with 17 points and seven rebounds while providing his usual inside-outside scoring and defensive toughness. Import BJ Johnson led Phoenix with 26 points.
Bounce back
Meanwhile, Blackwater will try to match Phoenix’s 2-0 record on Friday when it takes on Magnolia, which is looking to bounce back from its loss to the Fuel Masters, at 7:30 p.m. at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
In the 5:15 p.m. opener, Converge shoots for a 3-0 record against guest team Macau. A win would move the FiberXers into a tie with NLEx for the Group A lead.
Under the format for the season-ending conference, teams will play the other clubs in their group twice during the elimination round, with the top four from each bracket advancing to the crossover quarterfinals.
Teams in Group A will play a 12-game schedule, while those in Group B will play 10 games.
Group A has seven teams because of the inclusion of Macau, which has lost its first two games by 39 points to NLEx and 14 to San Miguel Beer.
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