Phoenix on top of Group B at halfway mark; Coach not surprised at all

Jason Perkins (with ball) drives to the basket. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

With the first round of the PBA Governors’ Cup eliminations about to conclude, one team is currently assured of holding on to the top spot in Group B, the tournament’s so-called “Group of Death.”

And it’s not the perennial contenders that earned that distinction, but Phoenix, which on a rainy Tuesday night outplayed Blackwater for a 102-93 win at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

It may be quite the stunner, unless you ask the team.

“I don’t say I am surprised [about our standings],” said coach Charles Tiu after the Fuel Masters ended up with a 4-1 record halfway through the group stage. “But as a team, we try to believe that we can win every game. We just ask them to compete.”

The first round saw Phoenix produce wins over Magnolia, Meralco and Barangay Ginebra, before absorbing its only setback of the conference so far at the hands of Rain or Shine.

Phoenix leaned on its locals with Jason Perkins leading the charge with 25 points, and Gian Mamuyac having his best offensive production since being dealt from Rain or Shine by contributing 18.

Ricci Rivero atoned for his ejection against the Elasto Painters to register 10 points, eight rebounds, nine assists and two blocks.

“So far we’ve been competing this conference,” Tiu said. “All we ask ourselves is to give ourselves a chance to win; don’t do silly things that will cost us the game. And we’ve been doing it game-by-game.”

Maintaining its form will be the next challenge for Phoenix, which will face the same Blackwater team on Aug. 5 to open the second round of the group stage.

Also on the horizon are rematches with Ginebra, Rain or Shine, Meralco and Magnolia, which Phoenix needs to hurdle to punch its way to the playoffs as one of the four best teams in the group.

Blackwater fell to 2-3 after suffering a third consecutive defeat, after a promising start under coach Pat Aquino. Import Kentrell Barkley finished with 36 points and 25 rebounds in the loss.

Meanwhile, Terrafirma and Macau face off on Wednesday at the same venue, looking for back-to-back wins in the 5:15 p.m. affair.

The Dyip beat the TNT Tropang 5G, 111-106, in overtime last Saturday at Ynares Center, the same day the Giant Pandas downed the Titan Ultra Giant Risers, 132-126, for a breakthrough victory after a 0-4 start.

Terrafirma holds a 2-3 slate and a win may keep itself in the middle of the pack in Group A, depending on the result of Tuesday’s match between Converge (3-1) and TNT (1-2), which was being played at press time.

San Miguel Beer, which was handed its first defeat by unbeaten NLEx last Sunday, tries to bounce back against Titan at 7:30 p.m. INQ