PHOENIX super LPG tries to sustain its giant-killing ways when it faces a struggling Meralco side on Wednesday in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
The Fuel Masters—behind rookie Tyler Tio and Encho Serrano—crushed heavily-favored Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 101-93, last week for back-to-back wins after a 0-3 start.
Now, their consistency will be tested against the Bolts at 3 p.m.
“It’s going to be fun for us. We took out ‘easy’ from our vocabulary because again it isn’t something that’s going to help us at this point with everything that’s happening around us,” Tio said.
Tio was the team’s spark and averaged 21.5 points and 7.0 assists in five games for the Fuel Masters, while Serrano had a 17-point average in those games.
But they’ll still be playing without Jason Perkins, who’s recuperating from a knee injury.
Meralco, on the other hand, was lethargic in four games where it only defeated Terrafirma, 105-92. The Bolts suffered a 99-106 loss to Converge last Sunday to drop to 1-3 won-lost.
“It’s really a must win for us,” Meralco coach Norman Black said.
TNT Tropang Giga, meanwhile, eyes its third consecutive victory when it battles NLEX at 5:45 p.m.
The Road Warriors, after a 2-0 start, lost back-to-back for a 2-2 record.
San Miguel Beer, on the other hand, let go of umpirt Diamond Stone and replaced him with 6-foot-9 Devon Scott. The Beermen are 1-2 won-lost.
Stone only scored 11 points on 5-of-18 shooting from the field in San Miguel Beer’s 87-111 defeat to the Hong Kong Bay Area Dragons last Sunday.
