Matthew Wright scored his only field goal late in the game to help Phoenix Super LPG pull off a 78-77 come-from-behind victory against Rain or Shine in the PBA Philippine Cup Thursday night at the Don Honorio Ventura State University Gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.
The Fuel Masters needed to unleash a 17-point run in the fourth quarter to overhaul a double-digit deficit and stun the Elasto Painters.
Wright capped that run by shaking off Gabe Norwood with a turn-around jumper to give Phoenix a slim 78-76 lead with only 2 seconds to go.
Rain or Shine still had a chance to salvage the game, but Beau Belga split his freebies, allowing Phoenix to walk away with only its second win in six games.
The Elasto Painters fell to 4-3.
Wright finished with four points.
Prior to the go-ahead jumper, the Elasto Painters did a good job covering Phoenix's main scorer.
"Matthew will win games and lose games for us; no matter what he will always take a shot," said Phoenix coach Topex Robinson. "He's a winner, he wants to win, he'll find ways to win."
"When the money shot came in, he was open, there was no doubt he will take that shot."
While Wright was still bricking his shots, other Fuel Masters stepped up.
There was Jason Perkins who paced Phoenix with 18 points to go with his 12 rebounds and five assists. RR Garcia also tallied 18 markers while Chris Banchero drilled 12 points and helped out on defense.
Belga and Jayvee Mocon had 17 points each for Rain or Shine. But the Elasto Painters were held to just 10 points in the payoff period and this led to their downfall.