Wright nabs PBA Player of the Week honor

By Jonas Panerio

PHOENIX wingman Matthew Wright picked the right time to break out of his slump as he led the import-less Fuel Masters to a rousing victory over the previously unbeaten NLEX Road Warriors in the 2021 PBA Governors’ Cup.

For that, the sweet-shooting off guard was named the third PBA Player of the Week for this conference, beating out the likes of San Miguel’s Terrence Romeo and CJ Perez, Magnolia’s Paul Lee, Jio Jalalon, and Calvin Abueva, Meralco’s Chris Newsome, TNT’s Mikey Williams, Alaska’s Maverick Ahanmisi, Jeron Teng, and Robbie Herndon.

The Fuel Masters had their backs against the wall after import Paul Harris was ruled out of the game after playing just two minutes due to an injury.

Wright then took over, scoring a game-high 23 points to hand Phoenix a 103-92 win over the Road Warriors and arrest a two-game skid before the league enters the New Year.

The ace guard laced the performance with six triples on top of nine rebounds and four assists.

“As bad as we played in our last two games, Matt said that we just have to keep on playing. That it’s either we go all the way with three straight losses or we stop the streak of NLEX,” said coach Topex Robinson on Wright’s leadership in a win that also served as his sweet birthday present.

Robinson celebrated his 47th birthday on Christmas as Phoenix climbed to a 3-2 record.

“These guys are really motivated, especially our leaders,” added Robinson, also crediting the solid contributions of Justin Chua, Chris Banchero, Jason Perkins, RJ Jazul and Aljun Melecio in a huge Phoenix win sans Harris. /