MANILA — Evan Nelle unleashed a stunning barrage from the four-point line in the fourth quarter as Phoenix Super LPG pulled away with a dominant 109-76 victory over Titan Ultra Giant Risers in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup Sunday night at the Ynares Center in Montalban, Rizal.
Clinging to a 73-64 lead after three quarters, the Fuel Masters erupted behind Nelle’s long-range fireworks as he opened the final period with three straight four-point connections to stretch Phoenix’s advantage to 89-66 with over eight minutes remaining.
The surge broke the game wide open as Phoenix continued to pile up the points, pushing the margin to as much as 109-74 behind inside finishes from James Dickey III and outside hits from Francis Escandor, Will Gozum, and Dave Ando.
Nelle finished with 14 points — all scored in the fourth quarter — along with eight assists, three rebounds, and three steals as Phoenix improved to a 2-0 record in the conference.
Ricci Rivero led the Fuel Masters in scoring with 18 points, while Dickey produced a monster double-double of 17 points and 17 rebounds. Kenneth Tuffin added 17 markers and Bryan Santos chipped in 13.
Earl Michael Gilmore paced Titan with a massive double-double of 27 points and 20 rebounds, but the Giant Risers absorbed their second straight loss to fall to 0-2.
In another game, the NLEX Road Warriors held off repeated rallies from Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots to carve out a 112-105 victory and join Phoenix and Terrafirma Dyip atop the standings.
From an 84-all deadlock early in the fourth quarter, the Road Warriors leaned on key conversions from Kevin Alas, Robert Bolick Jr., and Deschon Winston to build a 102-94 cushion with five minutes left.
Magnolia tried to stay within striking distance behind baskets from Anunwa Omot, but NLEX answered with back-to-back hits from Cady Lalanne and a triple from Winston to seal the win.
Lalanne delivered a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Winston, Bolick, and Bahio added 14 points each. Alas and LJay Gonzales chipped in 13 apiece and Anthony Semerad contributed 11 for the Road Warriors./PN
