In the right place at the right time, Ken Tuffin took crucial possession and saved the day for Phoenix Super LPG versus Rain or Shine.
Tuffin scored on a follow-up with seven-tenths of a second to go following a missed shot by Jason Perkins as the Fuel Masters made it two in a row in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup with a 93-91 decision over the Elasto Painters on Saturday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Fuel Masters made a decisive run from 70-71 down at the start of the fourth quarter and overcame an ROS barrage from the three-point area at the finish as they came through with a follow-up on their 122-108 blasting of Terrafirma on Tuesday and gained a piece of ninth place with Magnolia and NLEX at 3-5.
Coach Jamike Jarin’s chargers wheeled back into playoff contention, having won three of their last four outings.
After four straight losses, Donovan Smith and his teammates broke into the win-column last December in dealing NorthPort its lone defeat in the tourney, 115-109.
This time, the Fuel Masters handed the Elasto Painters their first loss in six games.
Smith put in 22 points and 10 rebounds, with Tyler Tio, RR Garcia, Jason Perkins and RJ Jazul adding at least 11 points each as they snapped the E-Painters’ hot streak and sent them down to 5-2.
Deon Thompson also had 22 points plus 13 rebounds, six assists and five steals against two turnovers while Leonard Santillan, Adrian Nocum and Jhonard Clarito delivered 19, 16 and 11, respectively, for the losing side.
After suddenly falling behind by nine, the E-Painters worked their way back into the fight on successive three-point bombs by Nocum, Santillan and Andrei Caracut.
They had their chance to grab the lead back in the dying seconds but Caracut bungled another try from beyond the arc, giving the Fuel Masters an opening to seal an upset which they did on Tuffin’s game-winner.
The Fil-foreign forward out of FEU finished with eight points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes of play. (PBA)
The scores
PHOENIX (93): Smith 22, Tio 16, Garcia 14, Perkins 12, Jazul 11, Ballungay 8, Tuffin 8, Daves 2, Verano 0, Muyang 0, Alejandro 0, Camacho 0, Ular 0, Salado 0.
RAIN OR SHINE (91): Thompson 22, Santillan 19, Nocum 16, Clarito 11, Caracut 8, Datu 7, Belga 5, Demusis 3, Malonzo 0, Asistio 0, Ildefonso 0, Norwood 0
QUARTERS: 17-18, 50-46, 70-71, 93-91.