Phoenix put to a halt its two-game skid while extending the woes of winless Converge, 113-107, in the PBA Philippine Cup on Friday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
Jason Perkins stuffed the stat sheet with a double-double of 26 points, 13 rebounds, and four assists, while Ricci Rivero had a share of the spotlight after putting up 14 markers in the third quarter to help the Fuel Masters gain the lead from a 50-all deadlock after two quarters.
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Perkins acknowledged the help he received from his teammates in the postgame press conference, saying it was his fault that they almost lost the lead.
“Just help from my teammates, I know everybody saw the points and stuff but when we lost that lead, I think that was my fault. The cameras don’t see if I get emotional sometimes. I had bad body language. I wasn’t being the best leader,” said Perkins.
“So we lost the lead but luckily, our teammates picked it up,” he went on.
Phoenix’s Ken Tuffin also had a double-double himself, after firing 16 markers and grabbing 10 boards in the victory.
The FiberXers tried to claw their way back into the game in the payoff period and even closed in at 103-100 with a little more than four minutes left in the game clock, but a personal 5-0 run by Tuffin worked wonders for Phoenix, followed later on by a couple of foul shots — also from him — to help fend off the comebacking Converge.
Justine Arana’s 32-16 explosion and Alec Stockton’s 31-7 output were deemed futile as the FiberXers suffered the defeat.
Javee Mocon and Matthew Daves, both averaging single-digit scoring in the tourney, added 11 points each for the Fuel Masters.
The Fuel Masters now see themselves with a 2-4 win-loss card, while Converge, still in contention for a playoff spot, is at 0-7.
