Phoenix rolls back Terra

MANILA, Philippines — Phoenix stepped on the gas in the second quarter to overturn Terrafirma’s early charge and clear its path to a 122-108 romp in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the PhilSports Arena last night.

Trailing by seven at the end the first, the Fuel Masters unleashed import Donovan Smith, whose 14-point, five-block rampage led a blistering 31-13 salvo in the second that enabled the Fuel Masters to wrest control.

From there, Phoenix kept Terrafirma at bay and as the final buzzer sounded, the Fuel Masters got back on track coming off their Dec. 19 loss to Converge (105-116) and picked up only their second victory overall versus five losses.

Before stamping their class on the cellar-dwelling Dyip (0-8), the charges of coach Jamike Jarin extracted their first W from the conference’s pacesetters no less, erstwhile unbeaten NorthPort, 115-109, last Dec. 17.

Smith netted 37 points, making 10 of them in a 35-28 closeout that allowed Phoenix to fend off Terrafirma’s final stand. He hauled down seven rebounds and issued three assists to complement his points and block outputs.

“Our team as a whole did a really good job today,” said Smith, who was backstopped by Jason Perkins (16), Ricci Rivero (14), Tyler Tio (10) and Kai Ballungay (10).

Later, TNT weathered Meralco’s fourth-quarter storm to escape, 101-99, and make it three in a row.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (24-13-5) fired two clutch free throws with 10 seconds left as the Tropang Giga (3-2) pulled through despite squandering a 13-point lead in the last 8:47. The Bolts dropped to 4-3.