The Phoenix Fuel Masters are in good shape to get a rare win as they face a winless TNT Tropang Giga squad, but that’s if their shortcomings don’t get in the way again.

Catch the game tomorrow at 7:30 PM.

TNT Tropang Giga (0-7)

  • Kib Montalbo
  • Frederick Tungcab
  • Glenn Khobuntin
  • Dave Marcelo
  • Damie Cuntapay

This super forgettable tournament for TNT rages on. After a 106-100 loss to the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters last Wednesday, they are once again left without a victory. It’s yet another tough follow up as they came off a 37-point beating in the game prior. Such happens when the main core is absent.

The lone good thing about the group thus far is the play of Glenn Khobuntin. The veteran swingman has stepped up in place of the sidelined stars, and has done so by leading the tournament in scoring at 24.3 points per game – he’s also grabbing 7.6 rebounds and shooting 50% from the field.

Frederick Tungcab has been one of the key aids of Khobuntin courtesy of registering 15.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. Shooter Carl Bryan Cruz, who’s scoring 14.5 points and shooting 41% from three is in the mix as well. Speedy point guard Kib Montalbo rounds out the group with 7.2 points and 5.7 dimes.

Phoenix Fuel Masters (3-6)

  • Javee Mocon
  • Tyler Tio
  • RJ Jazul
  • Simon Camacho
  • Raul Soyud

The Fuel Masters are not looking good. They lost to the NorthPort Batang Pier last Friday, 105-86, in what was their third-straight defeat and lowest scoring output of the tournament. The good thing they have the bottoming Tropang Giga next.

Adding to the good news is the return of Raul Soyud, who played in their previous outing after missing a couple of games due to an injury. The big man is leading the team in scoring at 16.0 PPG, alongside 9.8 boards, 1.1 steals, and 1.1 blocks on an efficient 65% shooting. Look for him to cause problems for TNT in the paint. He and Larry Muyang (12.8 PPG, 9.6 RPG) should be a force.

Hopefully, though, Sean Manganti, Javee Mocon, and Reden Celda can contribute well. The three were non-existent in the aforementioned loss, combining for just 17 points on 5-of-17 shooting, with Mocon also turning the ball over five times. If they are just a half better than that, we’ll likely see Phoenix end its tough losing skid.

PREDICTION:

Handicap: Phoenix (-5.5) wins and covers the spread.

Total: The total goes over 192.