MANILA, Philippines — Phoenix is determined to keep the fire burning as it enters the stretch of its PBA Commissioner’s Cup elimination assignments.
From the cellar, the Fuel Masters have risen to become the hottest team of the tournament with five straight wins, their youth-laden and superstar-less bunch gratefully seizing the moment to shine.
“We’re just embracing the opportunity,” said Phoenix coach Topex Robinson, whose squad has turned things around after a 0-3 start despite losing ace gunner Matthew Wright (to Japan) and big man Jason Perkins (injury) and dealing with distractions from the company’s legal problems.
“Our mantra is ‘don’t let go of the ball, if you do, somebody else will pick it up and won’t let go of the ball.’ They just love the opportunity to grow,” he added.
Robinson said it also helped a great deal to have veterans like RR Garcia, RJ Jazul, Sean Anthony and Jake Pascual and import Kaleb Wesson, who have been good motivators to bright youngsters like Tyler Tio and Encho Serrano.
“If you have guys like that encouraging them, you enjoy that opportunity,” said Robinson.
The Fuel Masters count NLEX (111-97), Barangay Ginebra (101-93), Meralco (89-82), Rain or Shine (92-83) and TNT (91-88) as preys in their running streak.
Robinson’s troops gear up for a tough test against Converge, another streaking team, on Wednesday before taking on heavyweights Magnolia and San Miguel Beer on Nov. 12 and 19, respectively.
“We know we have a lot of harder teams to play, Our next three games will be hard for us but we got to appreciate people who support us – Boss Dennis Uy, Boss RTZ (governor Raymond Zorrilla), Boss (team manager Paolo) Bugia. We’re blessed and we want to make sure we’re also a blessing to others by the way we play,” said Robinson.
“We just keep on playing…we just want to keep on fighting,” he added.