Macau went out of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup with a bang following an impressive 105-98 win over Phoenix Super LPG at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium last night.
Jenning Leung caught fire, dropping 32 points for the Black Knights, who wrapped up its campaign in the midseason conference with a 3-9 win-loss record.
Macau’s victory also means Barangay Ginebra and Rain or Shine formally secured twice-to-beat advantages for the quarterfinals while the Fuel Masters were relegated to a 6-5 slate.
Macau coach Marcus Elliot credited his boys for not giving up and playing their hearts out despite being already out of contention.
“In the latter part of the game, they made a good run. Their guards got into the paint and hit mid-range shots,” said Elliott, who replaced Garrett Kelly midway through the Black Knights’ campaign before facing a lot of internal issues, including the departure of some players and the tantrum of star gunner Damian Chongqui in the final stretch of their 84-102 loss to Terrafirma last week.
“But our guys held their ground, came back, executed well on offense, and made plays.”
A triple from Leung with 5:39 remaining in the fourth quarter sparked a 15-2 run as Macau turned an 89-91 deficit into a 101-93 advantage to seal probably the biggest win of their short, but memorable, stint as a guest team in the PBA.
Robert Cao had 23 points and six rebounds while import Tony Mitchell had a double-double night with 13 points and 24 boards for the Black Knights.
On the other hand, Kenneth Tuffin led the Fuel Masters with 27 points, two points shy of his career-high 29 markers in the Philippine Cup last year.
Phoenix will now have to wait for the result of the San Miguel Beer-Terrafirma match to determine its fate in the post-season.
The Fuel Masters are set to end their eliminations campaign against the Beermen on Saturday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.