SMART CLARK GIGA CITY--Matthew Wright exploded with 33 points to fuel Phoenix's 116-94 thrashing of Terrafirma in the PBA Philippine Cup Tuesday at the Angeles University Foundation Arena here.
Wright, the league-leading scorer, fired 13-of-21 from the field spiked by six triples as the Fuel Masters rebounded from a 105-97 defeat to Alaska prior to the break.
Calvin Abueva also shone as he tallied the bubble conference's second triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Topex Robinson-coached squad, which hiked its slate to 5-3 to stay in the jam-packed middle of the standings.
Four other players in RJ Jazul (16 points), Jason Perkins (14), Brian Heruela (14) and Justin Chua (10) scored in twin digits in the romp that saw Phoenix pull away in the third frame.
"We always talk about being the best version of ourselves. So, having all of those guys buying into that word means so much to us," said Robinson, who became the team's official head coach just two days ago.
Wright already waxed hot with 21 points in the first half but Phoenix settled for a 59-55 lead.
The Fuel Masters began to break free with a 27-point explosion in the third frame while holding the Dyip down to 16 markers.
Phoenix never looked back from there and even led by as many as 29 points, 112-83, on Wright's trey with 4:56 left in the game.
Last season's Rookie of the Year CJ Perez had 32 points, nine boards and five dimes for Terrafirma, whose quarterfinal hopes turned bleaker as it stayed winless in six outings.
Juami Tiongson and Eric Camson had 15 and 11 points, respectively, while top pick Roosevelt Adams continued to struggle as he only had six markers in the loss.
The scores:
PHOENIX 116 -- Wright 33, Jazul 16, Heruela 14, Perkins 14, Abueva 12, Chua 10, Mallari 6, Intal 4, Garcia 3, Napoles 2, Rios 2, Gamboa 0, Marcelo 0.
TERRAFRIMA 94 -- Perez 32, Tiongson 15, Camson 11, Ramos 9, Adams 6, Gabayni 5, Cahilig 4, Balagasay 4, McCarthy 3, Batiller 3, Celda 2, Calvo 0, Khobuntin 0, Faundo 0, Agovida 0.
Quarters: 23-26, 59-55, 86-71, 116-94