The Phoenix Fuel Masters looked headed for their fifth win in the PBA Governors’ Cup against a solitary defeat. But the Blackwater Bossing—the same team the Fuel Masters beat a game day prior—mounted a fourth‑quarter comeback and took the victory instead.
That turnaround certainly left a bad taste in the mouth of Phoenix coach Charles Tiu, who described the final frame as his team choking away a game it had controlled most of the way.
“We forgot how to play basketball,” Tiu told reporters curtly after the game. “I don’t know what we were doing. We had seven turnovers in the quarter… I don’t know what we were doing. Mind‑boggling. We choked, we collapsed, we sucked.”
It looked that way, indeed. Phoenix entered the fourth quarter up, 86-77, behind the scorching shooting of import BJ Johnson. The Bossing, in contrast, appeared to be a team in search of answers after scoring just 15 points in the third period.
Blackwater Takes Over
The Bossing then opened the final frame with 11 unanswered points to wrest the lead from Phoenix at 88-86. The Fuel Masters, though, were not completely out of it, as they tied things up at 92 to seemingly set up a pulsating finish. But Blackwater outscored Phoenix 11-1 from that point on to grab a 103-93 lead with a minute left in regulation.
In the end, Tiu was left searching for answers.
“We didn’t have answers. We couldn’t score,” Tiu admitted. “I don’t know. I don’t know what we were doing in the fourth quarter, because it looked like we were pretty much in control for two or three quarters.”
Tiu is right. After scoring over 25 points in each of the first three quarters, Phoenix mustered just 14 in the final canto on 5‑for‑20 shooting. The seven turnovers certainly didn’t help either.
Phoenix Faces Gauntlet Next
Part of Tiu’s disappointment might be because of Phoenix’s remaining schedule: the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on August 9, the Magnolia Hotshots on August 12, the Meralco Bolts on October 16, and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel on October 18.
“We needed this game… We have four teams, the perennial playoff contenders are our opponents. Obviously, it’s gonna be tough for us,” Tiu pointed out.
Again, Tiu is right. Phoenix’s unraveling against Blackwater gave the team little room for error moving forward. And now the Fuel Masters have a couple of days to fix things—and learn how to play basketball.
