Phoenix beats NLEX by a mile

MANILA, Philippines —  Sitting near the bottom of the team standings, playoffs-chasing Phoenix knew it needed to make its move – and fast.

And the driven Fuel Masters obliged, taking down second-running NLEX, 112-77, to juice up their quarterfinal drive in the PBA Philippine Cup yesterday at the Yanres Sports Arena in Pasig.

Phoenix set the tone for its third win in eight games with a laser-like 56.2-percent field goal shooting (41 of 73) spiked by a 51.5-percent clip from deep (17 of 33) and a stifling defense that held NLEX to a woeful 29.5 percent (26 of 88) marksmanship.

With back-to-back losses and 5-3 overall, the Road Warriors slipped two notches to fourth spot.

“We really needed this win because we can’t go down 2-6,” said Phoenix coach Jamike Jarin.

The 35-point romp marked the biggest winning margin in the All-Filipino for the Phoenix franchise, erasing the 23-point demolition of Terrafirma (89-66) in the 2022 edition.

More importantly, it provided a big boost in confidence and momentum as the Fuel Masters continue their drive to the Last-8 versus TNT on Wednesday, Meralco on Friday and Blackwater on May 4.