EASL: Dragonflies becomes 2nd team to qualify for Final Four Spot
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PBA: Phoenix Fuel Masters crush Terrafirma Dyip, 122-108
The Phoenix Fuel Masters crushed Terrafirma Dyip in their matchup last night, January 7, 2025, at the Philsports Arena in the continuation of the PBA Season Commissioner's Cup, 122-108.
Donovan Smith led the team where he recorded 37 points, seven rebounds, three assists and five blocks.
Smith says that they come into work every day with the same attitude regardless of whether they have won five straight or lost. What matters is that they just keep that positive mindset within the guys to make sure that they have the same goal, and they all worked together to win this game.
Photo courtesy PBA
”We come into work every day with the same attitude, regardless if we would’ve won five straight or lost. It’s just keeping that positive mindset within the guys to make sure that we have the same goal. That will carry us into the New Year. It’s a fresh start, so we just need to focus on our next games and build on the win that we have today,” Smith said.
"I just think our team as a whole did a really good job today. I was a lot more vocal on the floor and so I think that contributed to us winning. Just holding guys accountable and having the guys holding me accountable as well on both sides of the floor. I feel that's the biggest reason why we won today, because we played together for 48 minutes," Smith added.
The Fuel Masters did not allow Dyip to get the win even though their defense was weak at the beginning of the match, which made them outplayed by their opponent. This was also disappointing for Phoenix Fuel Masters head coach Jamike Jarin, who said it was good that the team recovered in the third quarter.
"We really needed to get it together, especially defensively. We were very disappointed in the first quarter and in the third quarter because we gave up a lot of points. It's still a learning process for everybody," said Jarin.
Meanwhile, Jarin also praised and gave credit to Smith's performance in the game because he was a team player, and also contributed the most points in the game.
“But a lot of credit goes to this guy (Smith). I'm just so blessed to have him. People don't know kasi in the two games before our break he's sick. He just kept playing with it because he knows he's very valuable and he's a team player. So we're just fortunate and blessed that we have a Donovan Smith as our import," Jarin added.
