Just a few days after beating Commissioner’s Cup champion Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, Phoenix Super LPG shoots for continuous rise on Tuesday in Season 50 Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup as it takes on a struggling Rain or Shine squad at the Ynares Sports Center.
Import BJ Johnson and the Fuel Masters, who are unbeaten in three straight games, are hoping to make a follow up of their 81-78 win over the Gin Kings when they take on the Elastopainters at 7:30pm in Antipolo City.
‘We are happy we are racking up wins,’ Phoenix coach Charles Tiu said. ‘We hope to sustain the run and sneak into the playoffs. But of course, we cannot take anyone lightly especially Rain or Shine which is looking for first win.’
Phoenix has beaten Magnolia, 98-86, Meralco, 98-97, and the Ginebra with Johnson averaging 27.6 points and 9.6 rebounds while Ricci Rivero posting an average of 14.0 points and Jason Perkins also showing 15.0 points average after three games.
It is contrasting to Rain or Shine’s 0-2 start.
Interestingly, Gian Mamuyac is suiting up in his second game with new team Phoenix against his former coach and team the Elastopainters since he was traded last week.
Meanwhile, Blackwater has taken care of the business for the past two games, winning those and having fun in the ongoing Governors’ Cup elimination round.
The undefeated Bossing are gunning for win No. 3 when they square off with Meralco at 5:15 pm.
Bossing head coach Patrick Aquino said it was so positive to see that his players were having fun in those two last games where they scored giant-sized upsets against Rain or Shine, 131-106, and Magnolia, 89-81, for a 2-0 start in Group B.
‘My players are having fun. Let us have fun and play as hard as we can,’ Aquino said, adding that it is about time to prove to anybody that they really belong in this league for 12 years. ‘I think it is about time that we look at Blackwater. We try to compete with all of them.’
Kentrell Barkley, a lefty reinforcement, provided Blackwater with a huge triple-double of 29 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in a win over Rain or Shine before following it up with 26 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks in a win against Magnolia.
Playmaker RK Ilagan is also a steady performer averaging 21.5 points in last two games with Sedrick Barefield and rookie Dalph Panopio averaging 24 points and 14.5 points also in both games, making the Bossing a good team so far.
After Meralco, the real test of their round robin set of games will also come against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel on Friday at the Araneta Coliseum, and against Phoenix Super LPG on July 28 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Meralco is holding a 1-1 win-loss slate after losing to Phoenix, 98-97, before bouncing back with 122-114 win over Rain or Shine last week.