The Phoenix Fuel Masters are back in the win column in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup, and sophomore Kai Balunggay had a lot to do with that. The former Ateneo Blue Eagle set the tone for Phoenix on Wednesday, aggressively attacking the paint and grabbing rebounds with fervor. Balunggay’s fast start helped Phoenix establish control early en route to a 107-76 shellacking of Terrafirma at the Ynares Center in Montalban.
The former lottery pick fired 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and was a perfect 6-for-6 in the first quarter to lead the Fuel Masters to a 37-20 advantage. After the game, Balunggay said he was simply doing what the Phoenix coaching staff asked of him.
“I’m never chasing stats. It’s something that in my career, ever since I was in college at Ateneo, that’s not been a focus for me,” Balunggay told the media after the Terrafirma game. “I just wanna do what the coaches tell me to do each and every game. That’s the biggest thing for me. Last game, they told me to go out and rebound, and I made that the focal point of my game. I just wanted to continue that tonight and buy into the game plan…”
Balunggay Stresses Ultimate Goal
Phoenix on Wednesday had the perfect game plan, and Balunggay and company followed it to a T. But the Fuel Masters will have to do more of the same in their coming games if they want to achieve their ultimate goal of making it to the playoffs. At the very least, Balunggay is encouraged at Phoenix taking a step forward toward that ambitious goal.
“It’s great to get this one, but like coach Willy [Wilson] said, the ultimate goal is to make the playoffs and keep stacking wins,” Balunggay noted. “I think tonight is a good step in the right direction. It’s a credit to the coaching staff. We see how hard they work to give us the blueprint to go out there and execute. Early on in the season we had our struggles, but like I said, this is the first step in the right direction.”
With Balunggay in buy-in mode, maybe Phoenix can take another step in the right direction… and another… and another.
