Game today:
(Mall of Asia Arena)
8 p.m. — Phoenix vs Magnolia
After displaying its no-quit character in its previous game, Phoenix Super LPG will shoot for the equalizer when it battles Magnolia in Game 4 of their Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup best-of-five semifinal series today at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Action starts at 8 p.m. with the Fuel Masters oozing with confidence after booking a 103-85 victory in Game 3 that cut the series deficit to 1-2.
A victory by the Fuel Masters in this crucial encounter will level the count and arrange a sudden-death duel on Friday for the right to face San Miguel Beer in the best-of-seven finals series.
Phoenix coach Jamike Jarin said they are in a very good position as their overwhelming victory in Game 3 put tremendous pressure on the shoulders of the Hotshots — the top seed after the elimination round.
“The pressure is on them because they’re expected to win. They’re the No.1 team,” Jarin said.
True enough, the Fuel Masters played with fire in their eyes in Game 3 despite staring at a 0-2 deficit.
The Fuel Masters battled back from 21 points down early in the second period and turned things around in the second half to complete the win and avert being swept by the Hotshots in their race-to-three series.
Aside from getting a new lease in life, the Fuel Masters also had somehow rejuvenated their confidence to compete with the Hotshots, who still have two opportunities to wrap up the series.
Facing a must-win situation, Phoenix picked a perfect time to bring out the best from RJ Jazul and Javee Mocon, who supplanted the much-needed help for reliable frontliners Johnathan Williams and Jason Perkins.
Jazul finished with 17 points, including five triples, two of which came in successions in the fourth period when the Fuel Masters went on an 11-2 run early in the fourth to gain its first sizeable lead in the series, 85-71.
Mocon, on the other hand, was back doing solid things on both ends of the court.
A key figure in Phoenix’s quarterfinals win over Meralco, Mocon was back in his elements in which he contributed 14 points and became one of the six players who contributed in double figures for the Fuel Masters.
“We were really waiting for this to come and that’s part of the adjustments that we made, to get more guys involved, like Javee Mocon and even Sean Manganti. We really dug deep to our rotation and we just wanted to make sure everybody’s ready to play,” Jarin said.
Aside from Mocon and Jazul, the other double-digit producers for Phoenix were Williams, rookie Ken Tuffin, Manganti and Perkins.
Williams ended up with 19 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and two blocks, while Tuffin and Manganti each tallied 14 points and Perkins contributed 13 as the Fuel Masters showed a better balance in offense that allowed them to win for the first time in the series.
Jarin is hoping that this won’t be the first for them to win as they have started to figure out winning over the Hotshots, whom they last beat during the first bubble tournament four years ago.
