Phelps hot, fuels Phoenix victory against Blackwater

MAIN MAN: Phoenix's Eugene Phelps (4) up against Kyle Pascual of Blackwater. (PBA Media Bureau photo)

MANILA: Eugene Phelps hit the enemy where it hurt the most on Wednesday night and took Phoenix Petroleum all the way to the quarterfinals of the PBA Governors’ Cup.
Owning the shaded lane all game long, the bull-strong Phelps scored 29 points and had 26 rebounds in leading the Fuel Masters to an authoritative 93-81 win over Blackwater that also ousted the Elite from further contention in the season-ending conference at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
With Blackwater signing an import that simply could not play big, Phelps was a monster underneath and the Fuel Masters roared to their fifth win in nine games even after coach Ariel Vanguardia admitted to not being happy on how they churned it out.
“We’ll take this win,” the rookie PBA coach said, before borrowing a line from the Tom Hanks movie Forrest Gump that described how dissatisfied he was with his point guards.
“It’s not a quality game for us. We had our lowest assist total in this game. My point guards are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get,” he said.
“I am challenging my point guards to lead this team,” he went on. “If (opposing) teams will pressure us the whole game, we will have a problem executing our plays.”
Simon Enciso scored 12 points and was the best point guard for Vanguardia against the Elite, who bombed out with their seventh straight loss in a 1-8 card after getting very little from new import Keala King.
King, who received the call after playing in the Thailand league a week back, was clearly not the player of Eric Dawson’s caliber and clearly cannot hold up against the big imports in the conference.
The lefty scored just 14 points and had eight rebounds in a forgettable debut, and it seems like he would be staying for the Elite’s final two games simply because Blackwater has bowed out.
King was the complete opposite of what Phelps is to Phoenix, and Vanguardia wasted no words in heaping praises for the man that has so far saved the Fuel Masters from what could have been a disastrous campaign.
“Phelps in heaven sent,” Vanguardia said in Filipino as Phelps has gone 5-1 ever since coming over and rescuing the Fuel Masters – and Vanguardia – from a 0-3 start. “He is giving everything the team needs.”
Rookie Arthur dela Cruz and Carlo Lastimosa had 18 points each to lead Blackwater, which has fared badly in its head-to-head duel with fellow sophomore team Mahindra, which not only qualified for the playoffs for the first time but is also courting a top four finish.
Mark Borboran contributed 15 points and the veteran Cyrus Baguio had 10 for Phoenix, which closes out against Alaska and Barangay Ginebra and would need to win both to have a shot at the last top four berth.
The Aces, meanwhile, stepped on the gas in the fourth quarter later in the night and left GlobalPort eating their dust, scoring a 133-106 victory that put Alaska within a win of advancing to the next round.
LeDontae Henton scored 33 points and had 13 boards, Calvin Abueva had 21 and eight and Chris Banchero came off the bench to scatter 20 for the Aces, who rose to 4-5.
GlobalPort simply couldn’t keep in step with the Aces in the fourth period, yielding 38 points to lose a second straight outing and drop to 3-6 despite getting 26 points from Terrence Romeo, 25 from import Mike Glover and 20 from Stanley Pringle.