THE Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters (2 wins, 1 loss) find themselves tied in the standings at the unlikely spot of second place behind just the Rain Or Shine Elasto Painters (3-1) and it’s largely because of the mature play displayed by their main man JC Intal.
The 2016-2017 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup is actually one of the most competitive conferences in years. The teams are all bunched up in the standings.
Just behind the league-leading Elasto Painters and tied with the Fuel Masters are the Meralco Bolts (2-1), the San Miguel Beermen (2-1), the GlobalPort Batang Pier (2-1), TNT KaTropa (2-2), the Blackwater Elite (2-2) and the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (1-1).
The other teams include the Alaska Aces (1-2), the NLEX Road Warriors (1-2), the Star Hotshots (1-2) and the Mahindra Floodbuster (1-3).
The Fuel Masters will need Intal to continue playing with maturity and poise if they hope to be competitive this conference.
There has never been a question about Intal’s skills as a basketball player. He has length, he has size, he can jump out of the gym or score from anywhere on the court. But he has always been “gigil” when inside the court and has never played with poise or maturity… until now.
After losing their first game the resurgent Fuel Masters tallied back-to-back victories to climb into contention this conference.
Intal scored five of his team-high 22 points in the final minute of the game to help Phoenix complete a surprise 92-85 victory over defending Philippine Cup champion San Miguel Beer in Antipolo last week.
Phoenix followed up that victory with another win four days later after the 6’4” Intal knocked down 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the Fuel Masters breezed past winless Mahindra Floodbuster, 114-104.
The 33-year-old Intal averaged 23.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists to earn the Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week for the period of Nov. 29-Dec. 4.
Despite his physical tools Intal has been a PBA journeyman at best.
He was drafted fourth overall by the Air21 Express in the 2007 PBA draft. He joined the Barangay Ginebra Kings in 2009. Playing behind established stars Mark Caguioa and Jayjay Helterbrand Intal became at best a reliable role player.
After three seasons with Ginebra he was traded to B-Meg, which later became San Mig Coffee and now Star Hotshots. While playing for San Mig, he suffered a meniscus tear in his left knee, causing him to miss basketball action for four months in 2012.
Because he returned to action before fully healthy he was never the same and was traded again to Barako Bull January 2013. He was part of the Barako Bull crew absorbed by Phoenix when it joined the PBA.
Intal has evolved to become the most reliable veteran in the Phoenix squad. He has since posted career highs in scoring, field goal and free throw percentage, and minutes played.
Phoenix Petroleum coach Ariel Vanguardia said he was happy that Intal has fully recovered from his bone spur injury (on his foot) that sidelined him during the third conference last season.
Vanguardia said Intal was the team’s franchise player and that Phoenix will probably only go as far as Intal can take them.
