PBA: Phoenix holds off Meralco, books playoff bonus

Phoenix Super LPG almost wasted an early lead but recovered just in time to eke out a 93-83 victory against the energized Meralco and book a twice-to-beat incentive in the PBA Commissioner's Cup on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

With the crucial victory, the Fuel Masters also improved to 8-2 while the Bolts dropped to 7-3 ahead of the quarterfinals round.

Phoenix, which was once riding a six-game winning streak early in the contest, established a 15-point lead late in the first half before the Bolts caught up and closed the gap to a single digit by the end of the first half, 54-47. 

Meralco import Shonn Miller, who came in as a replacement for injured Zach Lofton, then came up with a slam that allowed the Bolts to further cut the deficit to five, 88-83, with 2:56 left in the game. 

Thanks though to a timely triple from veteran gunner RJ Jazul, coupled with a Jason Perkins layup down the stretch, Phoenix got away with the victory. 

Perkins top-scored the squad with 22 points on top of eight rebounds while import Johnathan Williams put together a double-double outing of 19 markers and 15 boards. 

Phoenix will end its elimination round campaign on Sunday against TNT, who is one of the two remaining teams chasing for the last playoff seat alongside sister team NLEX. Meralco, on the other hand, takes on also-ran Terrafirma on Friday. 

Scores:

Phoenix 93 – Perkins 22, Williams 19, Tio 15, Jazul 13, Tuffin 6, Mocon 5, Rivero 5, Alejandro 4, Verano 2, Manganti 2, Camacho 0, Siyud 0, Garcia 0.

Meralco 83 – Miller 19, Banchero 15, Newsome 13, Quinto 10, Black 8, Almazan 8, Rios 5, Hodge 5, Pascual 0, Maliksi 0, Bates 0, Caram 0.

Quarters: 31-19, 54-47, 78-66, 93-83.

—Bea Micaller/JKC, GMA Integrated News