Phoenix Pulse continued to roll, dismantling Blackwater, 114-95, in the 2019 Honda PBA Philippine Cup on Friday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The red-hot Fuel Masters rolled to a fourth straight victory and dealt the Elite their third loss in four outings.
Calvin Abueva provided the boost off the bench, drilling in 22 points that went with 14 rebounds, four assists, and two blocks.
Matthew Wright fired 19 points, Jason Perkins scored 15 points, and Alex Mallari and Justin Chua added 12 points each.
RJ Jazul shot three three-pointers on his way to 11 points.
Phoenix didn't look like it was coming off a weeklong break as it raced off to a scintillating start. The Fuel Masters battered their foes on all fronts and took a 28-9 lead after the first nine minutes of action.
After the opening quarter, Phoenix was already holding a 37-18 buffer, which was big enough to withstand any comeback attempt by the Elite.
It was all Phoenix from there, with the Elite showing little resistance the rest of the way as the lead ballooned to as high as 37 points, 85-48, in the third period. The Elite scored 14 unanswered points to cut the deficit to 23, but the Fuel Masters closed the quarter with a 5-0 minirun to push the lead back up to 28 entering the payoff period.
Rookie Abu Tratter paced Blackwater with 24 points, eight rebounds, and four steals while Mac Belo chipped in 13 points. Allein Maliksi and Paul Desiderio had 12 points each for the Elite, which were coming off a rousing 111-99 win over Rain or Shine last Wednesday but were unable to match their energy this time.
THE SCORES
Phoenix 114 - Abueva 22, Wright 19, Perkins 15, Chua 12, Mallari 12, Jazul 11, Mendoza 10, Intal 3, Kramer 3, Dennison 3, Revilla 2, Napoles 2, Marcelo 0, Guevarra 0, Gamboa 0.
Blackwater 95 - Tratter 24, Belo 13, Maliksi 12, Desiderio 12, Javier 8, Digregorio 5, Cortez 5, Palma 4, Dario 4, Banal 3, Sumang 2, Eriobu 2, Sena 1, Jose 0, Alolino 0.
Quarters: 37-18, 66-42, 90-62, 114-95.
EXTRA DRIBBLES
-After scoring 27 points two nights ago, Mike Digregorio struggled with just 5 points on 1-of-10 shooting.
-Tratter's 24 points was a career-high.
NEXT GAMES
Phoenix - vs. NLEX on February 8 at the Mall of Asia Arena
Blackwater - vs. San Miguel on February 6 at the Mall of Asia Arena