MANILA, Philippines – Phoenix Super LPG recorded its second win of the PBA Governors’ Cup after sending Terrafirma to its third straight loss, 125-100, on Saturday, February 18, at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

Starting the contest on a 14-5 run, the Fuel Masters remained relentless and blew the game wide open by halftime, 64-45.

Not even the early exit of import Du’vaughn Maxwell staved off their momentum, as Phoenix led by as many as 31 in the third quarter, following a three by Sean Manganti.

After scoring a paltry 11 in the Fuel Masters’ last outing against Magnolia, Maxwell was ejected at the 6:32 mark of the third after incurring a flagrant 1 foul on top of a technical that was called earlier in the game.

The reinforcement, though, finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists this time in almost 28 minutes of play as his side improved to 2-5.

“It was unfortunate that he was called with his second technical, so he had to be ejected,” said Phoenix head coach Jamike Jarin.

“But what he did in the first half actually was what helped us have that lead, so when we lost him in the third quarter, everybody stepped up.”

“That’s always our mentality, the next man up,” Jarin added. “Everybody did well, the bench contributed, so we got the win after 48 minutes.”

Javee Mocon also made his conference debut for Phoenix and had 13 points plus 4 assists in exactly 20 minutes of play.

Dyip guard Juami Tiongson led all scorers with 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting, but his team fell to 2-5. Skipper Alex Cabagnot added 16, while import Jordan Williams had 14 markers on a 3-of-15 clip.

The results also propped up the idle top contenders as league-leading San Miguel and TNT, which both sport a 7-1 record, secured quarterfinal berths.

The Scores

Phoenix 125 – Maxwell 20, Perkins 14, Mocon 13, Serrano 12, Garcia 11, Manganti 10, Lojera 9, Camacho 8, Adamos 6, Muyang 5, Alejandro 5, Tio 5, Lalata 4, Jazul 3, Soyud 0, Go 0.

Terrafirma 100 – Tiongson 27, Cabagnot 16, Camson 15, Williams 14, Gomez de Liano 6, Alolino 5, Cahilig 5, Mina 4, Daquioag 3, Ramos 3, Gabayni 2, Grospe 0, Calvo 0.

Quarters: 29-24, 64-45, 94-69, 125-100.

– Rappler.com