MATTHEW WRIGHT took his turn at burning the hoops of the Angeles University Foundation gym and scored 36 points for debuting interim coach Topex Robinson in Phoenix Super LPG’s 116-98 rout of Meralco in the Philippine Basketball Association Cup.
Wright buried 14 points in the third period for the Fuel Masters, who made the news before the PBA restart at the Clark bubble following prospects of Calvin Abueva coming off his indefinite suspension by the league.
After holding a 53-41 lead at halftime, Wright and the Fuel Masters didn’t look back. They suck the power out of the Bolts with a fiery third quarter run, 39-22, for an insurmountable 92-63 advantage heading to the fourth period.
They were never threatened after that.
“It’s given that he [Wright] will take a lot of shots and he is also a good passer,” said Robinson of the 6-foot-3 gunner who also issued six assists.
“It’s obviously a good welcome win, and we could still do better,” Robinson, who replaced Louie Alas weeks before the restart, said. “We can’t be just happy winning our first game, we have still more games to play.”
Jason Perkins added 17 points and nine rebounds while Justin Chua also made 17 points for Phoenix.
Ryan Roose Garcia finished with 14 points also for Phoenix Super LPG, which put an image of Abueva as one of the virtual fans in the crowd-less gym.
Meralco coach Norman Black didn’t field big man Raymond Almazan in the game, giving the Fuel Masters the opportunity to capitalize on Meralco’s weak frontline.
Almazan hasn’t fully recovered from a knee injury he sustained last January.
Reynel Hugnatan led Meralco with 16 points while Chris Newsome had 12 points.
Scores:
Phoenix 116 – Wright 36, Perkins 17, Chua 17, Garcia 14, Intal 7 , Napoles 6, Jazul 5 , Marcelo 4, Rios 4, Heruela 3, Reyes 3, Gamboa 0.
Meralco 98 – Hugnatan 16 , Newsome 12 , Maliksi 11 , Quinto 11 , Salva 10 , Hodge 9 , Faundo 2, Black 6, Jose 8 , Amer 7 , Pinto 4 , Caram 2, Jackson 0.
Quarters : 25-21 , 53-41, 92-63, 116-98.