If you happened to miss out on Thursday’s 2021 PBA Philippine Cup double-header, we wrote a brief recap to keep you up to date.

Phoenix’s offense finally clicks

The Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters (3-5) hacked out a 96-84 victory over the Terrafirma Dyip (3-5), ending the latter’s three-game winning streak.

Main Takeaways:

• We have waited for this for quite a while, but the Fuel Masters’ offense finally came together. They produced a conference-best 47% overall clip from the field and compiled 21 team assists, which also tied their best output this conference. Newly-acquired star Vic Manuel came up with his best performance in a Phoenix jersey, finishing with 18 points on an efficient 8-for-12 shooting. This is indeed a much-needed performance for an offense that ranked third-worst in the league in offensive rating (89.1).
• How can you not like Jason Perkins’ game? Per Stats by Ryan, an advanced stats platform for Philippine basketball, Perkins is one of the only two players currently averaging at least 10 points, eight rebounds, and three assists per game (the other being Rain or Shine’s Javee Mocon). In last night’s win over Terrafirma, the lefty power forward tallied a conference-high 28 markers, to go along with his four boards and four assists. Despite his excellent knack for scoring the ball, the 28-year-old Perkins is also a willing passer and a workhorse on both ends of the floor.
• It was another relatively quiet night for Terrafirma guard Juami Tiongson. After a 10-point outing in their previous game, Tiongson again struggled, as he only made two of his 10 attempts and turned the ball over three times. One bright note for Terrafirma is the return of Roosevelt Adams, who drained his first two three-pointers and finished with 11 points and 4 rebounds in just 19 minutes of play.

NorthPort makes easy work of Blackwater

In their first game at Bacolor, the NorthPort Batang Pier (2-3) emerged triumphant via a 98-73 beating of the Blackwater Bossing (0-8).

Main Takeaways:

• Yet another impressive performance from Jamie Malonzo. The Batang Pier rookie combo forward already had a total of nine rebounds early in the third quarter, and finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 1 steal. Most importantly, Malonzo also made three triples last night, another indicator of his high potential as an athletic 3-and-D wing in the league.
• NorthPort won the rebounding battle against Blackwater in a lopsided 65-40. This is no surprise, as the Batang Pier are currently second in the league in total rebounds (55.3), which includes a second-best mark in offensive rebounds (17.5). With NorthPort boasting the 7-foot Greg Slaughter at the middle, and surrounding him with a crew of lengthy and athletic forwards such as Malonzo, Sean Anthony, and Sidney Onwubere, they are indeed a tough team to box out on the boards whether that be on offense or defense.

Advanced Stats are now available for Philippine basketball! Through Ryan Alba’s ‘Stats by Ryan’, you can now look at team and player advanced stats for the current 2021 PBA Philippine Cup (and the previous three seasons) via the Dribble Media website.

Check out this glossary for a list of the basketball advanced stats terminologies.

You can also contact Ryan via his Twitter handle (@_alba__).