MANILA: Eugene Phelps will feel the pain more upon waking up on Monday.
In the meantime, the new Phoenix Petroleum import dealt all the hurt on GlobalPort on Sunday night and guided the Fuel Masters to their first win in the PBA Governors’ Cup, a 120-107 shellacking at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
Called in to replace original import Marcus Simmons, Phelps showcased his vast talent by shooting 52 points, grabbing 16 rebounds and issuing six assists as the Fuel Masters broke through after four games while keeping the Batang Pier in the cellar with a 0-4 card.
It was the most prolific debut by an import since the 2008 Fiesta Conference when Darius Rice scored 56 for Purefoods.
Phelps’ output would have been a lot more had he not been on the bad end of an accidental elbow from GlobalPort counterpart Mike Glover and forced to sit out a huge chunk of the third period.
His lower lip busted open and losing a front tooth, Phelps returned to shoot 27 of his total from there, including some of the biggest buckets in the fourth period that helped Phoenix keep the high-scoring GlobalPort squad at bay.
Asian import Lee Gwan-hee also played his best game in the PBA, finishing with 16 points, with John Wilson also coming off the bench to fire 15 as the Fuel Masters dealt the Batang Pier a fourth straight defeat.
“It was my mistake not to bring him (Phelps) earlier,” said Phoenix coach Ariel Vanguardia, who also won his first game in the PBA.
Vanguardia admitted to having known of Phelps way before the tournament started, but opted to sign Simmons after efforts to sign De Andre Liggins failed. Liggins was able to sign a contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA.
“It’s nothing new to me,” said Phelps of the injury. “It didn’t bother me at all.”
Phelps scored 19 points right in the first period, including a triple that beat the buzzer for a 33-26 lead. The Fuel Masters would go on to lead by 11 several times, only for the Batang Pier to come back when Phelps went back to the locker room to have his lip fixed.
And just after Stanley Pringle made five straight points to usher the Batang Pier to the lead for the first time in a long while, 72-70 with 6:11 left in the third, Phelps made his way back to the bench and gave Vanguardia the thumbs up that he was ready to return.
He scored 12 points from there to hike his total to 37 after three periods, before scoring the first five in the fourth that shoved Phoenix to a 91-85 lead. The Fuel Masters never lost the lead from there.
Glover and Pringle scored 27 each for the Batang Pier, who got practically nothing from Terrence Romeo in the second half.
Meanwhile, San Miguel Beer was just too much to handle for sister team Star as the Beermen built leads of as large as 20 points before prevailing, 109-100, in the nightcap.
Arizona Reid scored 34 points and issued 11 assists, with June Mar Fajardo firing 28 and while plucking down 13 rebounds for the Beermen, who bounced back from a surprise loss to Mahindra for a 3-1 card.
Alex Cabagnot made it a three-sided battering ram for the Beermen with 21 points, with Chris Ross shooting 14 that went with 10 assists that helped San Miguel pin a third loss in four games on the Hotshots.
James Yap, the former two-time MVP, fired 20 points – his best game in months – but the Hotshots struggled with import Marqus Blakely held down to 15 points and a night-high 10 turnovers.
In the meantime, the new Phoenix Petroleum import dealt all the hurt on GlobalPort on Sunday night and guided the Fuel Masters to their first win in the PBA Governors’ Cup, a 120-107 shellacking at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
Called in to replace original import Marcus Simmons, Phelps showcased his vast talent by shooting 52 points, grabbing 16 rebounds and issuing six assists as the Fuel Masters broke through after four games while keeping the Batang Pier in the cellar with a 0-4 card.
It was the most prolific debut by an import since the 2008 Fiesta Conference when Darius Rice scored 56 for Purefoods.
Phelps’ output would have been a lot more had he not been on the bad end of an accidental elbow from GlobalPort counterpart Mike Glover and forced to sit out a huge chunk of the third period.
His lower lip busted open and losing a front tooth, Phelps returned to shoot 27 of his total from there, including some of the biggest buckets in the fourth period that helped Phoenix keep the high-scoring GlobalPort squad at bay.
Asian import Lee Gwan-hee also played his best game in the PBA, finishing with 16 points, with John Wilson also coming off the bench to fire 15 as the Fuel Masters dealt the Batang Pier a fourth straight defeat.
“It was my mistake not to bring him (Phelps) earlier,” said Phoenix coach Ariel Vanguardia, who also won his first game in the PBA.
Vanguardia admitted to having known of Phelps way before the tournament started, but opted to sign Simmons after efforts to sign De Andre Liggins failed. Liggins was able to sign a contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA.
“It’s nothing new to me,” said Phelps of the injury. “It didn’t bother me at all.”
Phelps scored 19 points right in the first period, including a triple that beat the buzzer for a 33-26 lead. The Fuel Masters would go on to lead by 11 several times, only for the Batang Pier to come back when Phelps went back to the locker room to have his lip fixed.
And just after Stanley Pringle made five straight points to usher the Batang Pier to the lead for the first time in a long while, 72-70 with 6:11 left in the third, Phelps made his way back to the bench and gave Vanguardia the thumbs up that he was ready to return.
He scored 12 points from there to hike his total to 37 after three periods, before scoring the first five in the fourth that shoved Phoenix to a 91-85 lead. The Fuel Masters never lost the lead from there.
Glover and Pringle scored 27 each for the Batang Pier, who got practically nothing from Terrence Romeo in the second half.
Meanwhile, San Miguel Beer was just too much to handle for sister team Star as the Beermen built leads of as large as 20 points before prevailing, 109-100, in the nightcap.
Arizona Reid scored 34 points and issued 11 assists, with June Mar Fajardo firing 28 and while plucking down 13 rebounds for the Beermen, who bounced back from a surprise loss to Mahindra for a 3-1 card.
Alex Cabagnot made it a three-sided battering ram for the Beermen with 21 points, with Chris Ross shooting 14 that went with 10 assists that helped San Miguel pin a third loss in four games on the Hotshots.
James Yap, the former two-time MVP, fired 20 points – his best game in months – but the Hotshots struggled with import Marqus Blakely held down to 15 points and a night-high 10 turnovers.
