Unbeaten Phoenix overcomes injury-riddled Ginebra

Sports

THE Phoenix Fuel Masters took advantage of the opponent’s manpower woes to the hilt, escaping the injury-hit Barangay Ginebra Kings, 81-78, to stay unbeaten in the PBA Season 50 on Sunday night, July 19, at the Araneta Coliseum.

Phoenix improved to 3-0 (win-loss) to seize the solo top spot in Group B. The Fuel Masters are one of the five teams that have played at least two games who have yet to lose.

Other unbeaten teams are the NLEX Road Warriors (3-0), Converge FiberXers (3-0), and San Miguel Beermen (2-0) in Group A. The Blackwater Bossing are also unbeaten, trailing Phoenix in Group B with a 2-0 slate.

Robert Johnson paced Phoenix with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Ricc Rivero tossed in 16 and nine rebounds while Kai Ballungay and Jason Perkins added 12 and 10 markers, respectively.

The game also marked the debut of Gian Mamuyac, who played as a Fuel Master for the first time after being shipped by the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. Mamuyca scored six points.

Ginebra got a solid showing from import Riley Grigsby, who tallied game-highs of 42 points and 13 rebounds in his PBA debut.

Grigsby was brought in to temporarily replace Justin Brownlee, whic is still nursing a foot injury.

Grigsby’s explosive performance went to naught after he failed to get ample support from Ginebra locals.

No Ginebra local scored in double figures

It didn’t help that the Kings played without the injured Scottie Thompson.

Still, Ginebra fought hard, nearly overcoming a 19-point deficit and even had the chance to steal the win but Jonathan Gray missed a potential game-winning four-pointer at the buzzer.

THE SCORES:

PHOENIX (81) – Johnson 23, Rivero 16, Ballungay 12, Perkins 10, Tuffin 9, Mamuyac 6, Delos Santos 3, Tio 2, Santos 0, Chua 0.

GINEBRA (78) – Grigsby 42, Gray 9, Abarrientos 8, Pinto 6, Abis 5, Rosario 4, Torres 3, J.Aguilar 1, Holt 0, Cu 0, Go 0.QUARTERSCORES: 32-15, 48-36, 66-55, 81-78.(CCM)