Phoenix Super LPG jumped out to an early lead which they lost briefly but regained in time to post a 110-105 victory over NorthPort Batang Pier as action in the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup continued yesterday Thursday, October 15 at the Angeles University Foundation Arena powered by Smart 5G.
Kevin Ferrer drilled a triple to cut the Phoenix lead to four, 98-94. But Justin Chua countered with his own triple followed by a fastbreak layup by Jason Perkins as the Super LPG extended their lead to nine, 103-94, with 3:08 to go in the match.
Ferrer drilled his third consecutive triple of the quarter to cut the gap, 103-97, with 2:45 left. This was followed by basket inside the paint by Christian Standhardinger to cut the gap even more, 103-99, for Phoenix.
RJ Jazul then stole the ball and zipped a pass to Matthew Wright who drilled a wide-open triple to virtually seal the outcome of the match, 106-99, for Phoenix with just 56 seconds left to play.
NorthPort cut the lead to just two points, 106-104, off a field goal by Sean Anthony and Ferrer’s fourth consecutive triple. Jason Perkins made two free throws, 108-104, for Phoenix.
Anthony added a free throw and Jazul finalized the count at 110-105 on two free throws.
Phoenix relied on its blazing three-point attack converting 17 triples out of 43 attempts compared to just eight triples out of 31 attempts by NorthPort.
Standhardinger got a pass from Ferrer and relied on his size to score from underneath for NorthPort to cut the Phoenix lead to just two points, 85-83, with nine minutes in the game.
Garvo Lanete drilled a big triple as NorthPort finally grabbed the lead 86-85 with eight minutes to go. That proved to be NorthPort’s last time to hold the lead.
Phoenix went old school at the defensive end, putting up a 2-3 zone for large portions of the game to prevent incursions inside the paint. Though in a zone the Phoenix defenders were quick to challenge shooters from the perimeter.
Jorey Napoles drove strong to the hoop to convert a layup which pushed Phoenix to a slim, 23-22, advantage after the first period.
It was Sean Anthony’s turn in the second quarter to score on a driving layup for NorthPort to cut the Phoenix lead to just four points, 55-51, at halftime.
Kevin Ferrer pivoted past his defender then drove hard along the baseline to score on a drive to cut the Phoenix lead to just six points, 83-77, after three quarters.
The scores:
Phoenix Super LPG 110—Jason Perkins 31, Matthew Wright 23, Justin Chua 17, RJ Jazul 10, Brian Heruela 9, Jensen Rios 8, JC Intal 5, Jorey Napoles 4, Dave Marcelo 3, RR Garcia 0, JayR Reyes 0.
NorthPort Batang Pier 105—Christian Standhardinger 28, Sean Anthony 23, Garvo Lanete 17, Kevin Ferrer 14, Paolo Taha 7, Kelly Nabong 6, Nico Elorde 4, Jervy Cruz 2, LA Revilla 2, Bradwyn Guinto 2.
Quarter scores: 23-23, 55-51, 83-77, 110-105.
