Jason shines for Phoenix

MANILA, Philippines — With Jason Perkins providing the fourth-quarter spark, Phoenix zoomed to a 111-106 victory over Blackwater to grab solo second in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Perkins banged in 12 in the windup highlighted by three three-point plays to grease the Fuel Masters to a 97-90 cushion en route to back-to-back wins and 3-1 overall behind unbeaten pacesetter Magnolia (4-0).

The Fil-Am power forward, one of the leaders of the youth-laden Phoenix crew, finished with 23 markers to go with eight rebounds and four assists.

But Perkins’ most valuable contribution in this W, noted coach Jamike Jarin, was his defensive effort against Bossing import Chris Ortiz.

“The stats sheet won’t show  it but he did all the great things (defensively); he made it hard for the import of Blackwater. Even though Ortiz scored a lot of points, Jason made it difficult for him,” Jarin said.

Ortiz finished with a game-high 35 but was essentially silent when Phoenix seized control early in the fourth.

“I’m very proud of how Jason leads us. He’s the MVP of the game but for me, he’s the Best Defensive Player in this game,” said Jarin.

Perkins shared the credit with his teammates.

“I got beat to the hoops by Ortiz a lot but my teammates helped me out. Everybody’s rotating, everybody’s playing five-man defense,” said the six-year pro from La Salle, who also gave props to the gang for “playing within the system and moving the ball around” on the offensive end.

Jonathan Williams III was a rock for Phoenix, posting a near triple-double of 21 markers, 12 boards and eight assists, as skipper RJ Jazul shot 19 spiked by a four-of-four three-point clip and Ricci Rivero and Javee Mocon chipped in 14 and 13, respectively.

The four combined for 22 in the closeout in collaboration with Perkins.

RK Ilagan and freshman Christian David shot 12 apiece for the Bossing, who bowed for the third straight match after hurdling their opening assignment.