Phoenix snaps skid, boosts PBA Philippine Cup playoff bid with rout of Terrafirma

0Shares

Phoenix snapped a four-game skid and reignited its playoff push with a dominant 107-76 victory over Terrafirma in the PBA Philippine Cup on Wednesday, November 12, at the Ynares Center in Montalban.

Kai Ballungay powered the Fuel Masters with 19 points and 12 rebounds, leading a wire-to-wire performance that saw Phoenix race to a 34-15 cushion after the opening quarter en route to a 2-5 record. The win kept its hopes alive of breaking into the top eight after the 11-game eliminations.

Kai Ballungay anchors Phoenix with a double-double in a crucial win. [PBA Images]

Phoenix dominates early, stays focused on playoff chase

Ricci Rivero, Jason Perkins and Bryan Santos added valuable contributions as Phoenix maintained control throughout. Head coach Willy Wilson stressed that the young team is focused on building consistency rather than fixating on playoff scenarios.

“Siyempre, ultimate goal namin is to make the playoffs pero hindi namin tinitingnan ‘yung playoffs. Ang tinitingnan namin is the next game,” Wilson said. “We’re just trying to grow every single game. We want to have improved from Day One ‘til whenever our conference ends.”

Ballungay echoed the mindset after the win. “It feels good to get this one, but as coach Willy just said, our ultimate goal is to make the playoffs and keep stacking wins,” he said. “Tonight was a good step in the right direction.”

Terrafirma falls further as Phoenix clamps down defensively

Terrafirma tumbled to 1-6 after absorbing its fifth straight loss, falling behind early before briefly closing the gap from 25-45 to 45-51. Paolo Hernandez led the Dyip with 14 points, while Mark Louie Sangalang scored 13.

Phoenix quickly shut the door after halftime, holding Terrafirma to 7-of-42 shooting in the final two quarters while converting 18 of its 32 attempts. With no natural bigs to match Phoenix’s frontcourt, the Dyip surrendered a minus-24 differential in inside points, while Santos and Rivero boosted the Fuel Masters to a plus-16 edge from the perimeter.

The game also marked the season debut of Maverick Ahanmisi with his younger brother Jerrick on the opposite side, but both were limited to a combined six points as Terrafirma’s struggles continued.