No stopping Phoenix — Late rally sparks Fuel Masters triumph

Phoenix took its sweet time before delivering the deadly blows down the stretch to book a 113-104 victory over NorthPort in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner's Cup yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Johnathan Williams was dominant, flirting with a triple-double of 38 points, 19 rebounds, nine assists, and three steals to lead the Fuel Masters to their franchise-best sixth straight victory to claim the second spot in the team standings of the season-opening conference.

More than that, the Fuel Masters, now with a 7-1 win-loss card, boosted their chance for a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.

But what made the feat even more impressive was the fact that the Fuel Masters played without their ace forward in Jason Perkins, who was down with a flu.

Still, the rest of the squad stepped up with rookie Ken Tuffin, Tyler Tio and Larry Muyang chipping in to support Williams, who dominated not just as a scorer but as a facilitator as well.

"My teammates made some crunch shots in the game," Williams, who helped the Fuel Masters ignite an 18-9 rally down the stretch to turn a 95-95 count into an easy victory, said.

"But you have to give the guys credit for playing selfless basketball."

The Filipino-Kiwi Tuffin fired 15 points while Tio chipped in 14 markers and Muyang added 10 in an expanded role brought by the absence of Perkins.

NorthPort welcomed the return of import Venky Jois, who appeared to be in tip-top condition after being bothered by a hamstring injury.

He appeared to be healthy right from the get-go until he suffered cramps inside the nine-minute mark of the fourth and had to be pulled out.

Jois returned with less than three minutes to go, but by then, Phoenix was already in full control, 109-98.

The Australian import finished with 27 points but was hardly a factor in the endgame as Williams asserted his dominance as a warning shot to their next opponents in Magnolia San Miguel Beer on Monday, Christmas Day, Meralco on 10 January, and TNT Tropang Giga on 14 January.

Arvin Tolentino backed Jois, finishing with 19 markers while Joshua Munzon chipped in 13.

Cade Flores added 12 and JM Calma poured in 11 in a display of balanced firepower for the Batang Pier, who earned nothing but admiration from Williams.

"Hats off to NorthPort. They came up with a really good game plan and no wonder they're one of the top teams in the league," he said.

The Scores:

PHOENIX (113) — Williams 38, Tuffin 15, Tio 14, Muyang 10, Mocon 8, Rivero 8, Alejandro 6, Jazul 6, Garcia 4, Verano 3, Manganti 1, Camacho 0, Lalata 0, Daves 0

NORTHPORT (104) — Jois 27, Tolentino 19, Munzon 13, Flores 12, Calma 11, Zamar 7, Bulanadi 6, Chan 3, Amores 3, Paraiso 2, Caperal 1, Yu 0, Rosales 0, Adamos 0.

QUARTERS: 26-28, 56-60, 87-89, 113-104.