Rookie Encho Serrano came up in big moment as he carried Phoenix Super LPG to a tense 106-103 squeaker of contender Converge in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors' Cup on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Serrano came through with a gutsy floater in the final 18.7 seconds that shattered the game's final deadlock at 103 while Tyler Tio split his charities to seal the victory and lift the Fuel Masters to the eighth spot with their third win in eight matches.
With that, Phoenix now enjoys a very slim separation from its pursuers who are also trying to catch the bus headed for the quarterfinals.
Serrano delivered a season-high 28 points in a sizzling 11-of-16 field goal shooting while import Du'vaughn Maxwell and Jason Perkins added 19 and 16 markers, respectively, for the Fuel Masters, who got the early lead, 21-15.
Import Jamaal Franklin waxed hot, firing 30 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists but he couldn't get the job done as the FiberXers suffered their third loss in nine matches.
"We're not thinking about fatigue," Serrano, who poured all of his points in the second half.
"We know it's going to be a struggle but we're more inspired with this win."
Converge tried, but just couldn't put away Serrano and the Fuel Masters as they displayed their winning form in the crucial stretch.
A triple by Franklin in the closing seconds of the third period created a slim separation that enabled the FiberXers to take a 69-66 edge heading into the final period.
But the fourth quarter turned out to be a struggle for both squads and in the end, the Fuel Masters were able to endure the challenge and picked up their first back-to-back victory this conference.
"We got a good rest coming into this game. That was our advantage. We were ready to go up and down for 48 minutes. That was our advantage," Phoenix coach Jamike Jarin said.
"I think they (Converge) got a little bit tired towards the end, that's why we got the win."
Phoenix resumes its quest of bolstering its playoff chances when it battles Rain or Shine in another must-win encounter.
Only eight teams will advance to the next round with the top four teams securing a twice-to-beat advantage against their rivals from the lower four.
Last conference, the Fuel Masters were able to reach the quarterfinal round but lost the playoff match to Magnolia after showing up with a decimated roster as nearly half of the members of the squad were placed under health and safety protocols.
The Scores:
PHOENIX 106 – Serrano 28, Maxwell 19, Perkins 16, Tio 16, Muyang 8, Mocon 7, Camaco 4, Jazul 3, Manganti 3, Garcia 2, Alejandro 0
CONVERGE 103 – Franklin 30, Stockton 11, Balanza 11, Racal 11, Teng 11, Ahanmisi 10, Arana 8, Ebona 4, Tratter 4, Browne 0
QUARTERS: 23-24, 42-49, 66-69, 106-103