PBA: Phoenix beats TerraFirma, while Dyip, last place, continues to skid

Manila, Philippines – (UPDATED) Phoenix Super LPG achieved an excellent team performance by defeating TerraFirma Dyip, 116-94, for their fifth victory in the 2020 PBA Philippines Cup, on Tuesday at the University of Angeles Foundation gym in Angeles City, Pampanga .

Matthew Wright hit six of his 12 3s on the way to a team-high 33 points, while Calvin Abueva contributed 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for a triple-double. Phoenix Super LPG, as a team, had a whopping 33 assists in the game.

“We always preach about service,” said head coach Topex Robinson. “We always talk about how you’re going to make your teammate look good, and it’s always just one more pass.”

“We make sure we don’t just do it in practice, we do it in game,” he added.

RJ Jazul added 16 points, while Brian Heruela and Jason Perkisn each scored 14.

Against a desperate TerraFirma team that has yet to win in the conference, the Fuel Masters trailed as many as 11 points before Wright was left without a follow-up in the second quarter.

He shot 16 points in the period to lead the Fuel Masters to a 59-55 lead at the break, and his teammates took the slack in the third frame where they outscored TerraFirma, 27-16.

Despite the best efforts of second-year guard CJ Perez, the Dyip never got under way and fell behind by 29 points, 112-83, with five minutes left when Wright scored another triple.

The Fuel Masters shot 51.8% from the field, including 41.19% from beyond the arc. They also scored 27 points from Dyip’s 21 turnovers, and had 31 points at halftime. In contrast, TerraFirma made only 37.5% of its field goals.

Perez, the current Rookie of the Year, had 32 points, nine rebounds and five assists in his first meeting against Robinson, his collegiate coach at the University of the Philippines Lyceum. Then Robinson praised Perez for his effort, even as the Dyip slipped to 0-6 in the bubble.

“It’s a game changer,” Robinson said of Perez. “The sky is the limit for him … I told him after the game, you just have to keep working.”

Perez’s supporting cast faltered again, with Rashawn McCarthy producing just three points and the No. 1 overall pick, Roosevelt Adams, posting 1 of 9 from the field en route to six points. Juami Tiongson was TerraFirma’s next top scorer, with 15 points.