Phoenix Super LPG will not let its early success distract it in its goal of winning the title in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup.
Fuel Masters head coach Jamike Jarin admitted that they are on a roll but they will not let themselves get carried away, especially since they are still in the early stretch of the season-opening conference.
With the young guns carrying the fight, the Fuel Masters won five of their first six games, including a four-game streak that was capped by a heart-stopping 99-98 victory over Converge last Saturday at the Philsports Arena.
“Early success is dangerous,” said Jarin when asked for comment about their red-hot start.
“We just have to continue working better. We might be pleased with the results we’re seeing now, but it’s halfway from achieving the target.”
Jarin said they are taking the conference one game at a time, thanks to the presence of young stars like Ricci Rivero and Ken Tuffin as well as the leadership of veteran Jason Perkins.
“I would say he had embraced the role of being a leader and on top of being a leader, I think Jason has become the new face of the franchise of this team,” Jarin said, adding that Perkins had embraced the leadership role since Matthew Wright left them for Japan.
In the Fuel Masters’ previous win over the FiberXers, Perkins finished with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field to go along with seven rebounds.
The Fuel Masters had taken a similar path they created last season when they invested on second-round draftees Tyler Tio and Encho Serrano, who both made an impact as newcomers.
Now, Rivero and Tuffin are being groomed for bigger roles as Phoenix shoots for their first PBA title.
A highly-touted player from University of the Philippines, Rivero slid in the draft. He fell all the way to the second round until the Fuel Masters picked him up with the 17th overall pick.
It, however, turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the Fuel Masters utilized his talent, enabling him to average 10.7 points in their first six games.
Tuffin, a 6-foot-4 Filipino-Australian, averaged 9.2 points on a high 44 percent shooting from the three-point range while pulling down 6.5 rebounds and dishing out 2.8 assists per game.
But the biggest part of Phoenix’s success is import Jonathan Williams, a former Los Angeles Laker, who averages 26.3 points, 14.2 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game.
Jarin believes that Williams is a big reason why Phoenix is playing selfless basketball.
“I don’t see any other import right now who’s been dishing out more assists than Jonathan and he’s one of the reasons why we’re playing selfless basketball,” Jarin said.
