Matthew Wright hit a running three to give Phoenix Super LPG a hard-fought 89-88 win over Magnolia in a seesaw quarterfinal match Saturday night to reach the semifinals of the PBA Philippine Cup at the Angeles University Foundation Sports and Cultural Center.

With the shot clock winding down after spending most of the possession struggling to protect the ball, the Fuel Masters were able to get the ball to Wright who calmly fired the shot past Mark Barroca to take the lead with 9.8 seconds left.

Magnolia tried to answer Wright’s triple and force a do-or-die match but Paul Lee missed a step back jumper from the left side before Calvin Abueva grabbed the rebound as time expired.

Wright finished with 32 points, five rebounds and nine assists despite Phoenix coach Topex Robinson and his staff’s decision to have him come off the bench in the contest that eventually saw nine ties and 12 lead changes.

“It’s just magical for us,” said Robinson, who steered the team to a second straight Philippine Cup semis in his first conference since being elevated from his assistant coaching duties.

“We’re just so blessed to be here, to grind it out with one of the best teams in the league

Phoenix will take on TNT in a best-of-five semifinal series which starts Wednesday inside the Smart Clark Giga City bubble. The Tropang Giga defeated the Alaska Aces 104-83 earlier in the day to reach the semis.

Jason Perkins had 16 points and six rebounds for Phoenix, which once again handed Magnolia another heartbreaking loss albeit cutting short its stint in the bubble.

Magnolia went up 88-86 with under two minutes remaining on a basket by Ian Sangalang and had multiple chances to seal the victory late.

But the Hotshots, who forced Fuel Master Calvin Abueva to turn the ball off an inbound and get another break shortly after when the latter missed two free throws, turned the ball over twice, the last when Barroca opted to make a pass instead of firing a jump shot.

His last-second decision led to a pass directly to Abueva who called a timeout in order for Phoenix to set up Wright’s game-winner.

Lee scored 17 points while Sangalang and Barroca added 15 points apiece but it was not enough for the Hotshots as they suffered an early exit in the Philippine Cup after runner-up finishes in the previous two editions.

The scores:

PHOENIX 89 — Wright 32, Perkins 16, Jazul 9, Abueva 6, Chua 5, Rios 5, Mallari 3, Reyes 3, Intal 3, Garcia 2, Marcelo 0.

MAGNOLIA 88 — Lee 17, Sangalang 15, Barroca 15, Dela Rosa 11, Banchero 9, Melton 9, Jalalon 8, Reavis 4, Corpuz 0, Dionisio 0.

Quarters: 24-21, 37-39, 66-63, 89-88.