MANILA – Matthew Wright came up with late free throw hits as Phoenix Fuel Masters escaped with a 92-90 victory over San Miguel Beermen in Game 3 of the 2019 Honda PBA Philippine Cup semifinals last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With the score tied at 86-all, Wright drained two free throws to put the Fuel Masters on top 88-86. He drained four more freebies in the succeeding possession as Phoenix made it 92-88.
The Beermen made their last push at 90-92 on a layup by Chris Ross and had a chance to win it after Fuel Masters’ JC Intal missed his two free throws but was unable to score.
Wright finished the match with 18 points, Calvin Abueva had double-double 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Fuel Masters, which trimmed the series deficit to 1-2.
The Fuel Masters got to an early 16-6 start on baskets from Abueva and RJ Jazul. The Beermen leaned on Christian Standhardinger and Terrence Romeo to take a 22-21 edge.
The Fuel Masters, however, countered with inside hits from Justin Chua to regain the edge at 31-24 but the Beermen managed to keep the game close as they were down 36-40 at the half.
Phoenix went on to stretch the lead to 46-36 on a basket by Wright but the Beermen banked on inside hits by June Mar Fajardo to take a 66-64 lead after three quarters.
The Fuel Masters pulled away at 70-63 early in the fourth with hits from Jazul and Abueva but the Beermen quickly clawed its way back and tie at 86-all on free throws by Fajardo.
Fajardo finished the match with double-double 22 points and 19 rebounds, while Alex Cabagnot added 18 markers for the Beermen./PN
