Matthew Wright scored 32 points, and Phoenix weathered a second-half rally by GlobalPort to win 104-100 in the PBA Philippine Cup at Araneta Coliseum on Friday.

With the win, Phoenix raised its record to 5-6 and will at least qualify for a play-in game, depending on the result of the second game between Barangay Ginebra and Rain Or Shine.

"At least we have another day to live. Sarado pa naman ang Boracay ngayon, wala kaming babakasyunan," Phoenix coach Louie Alas said.

"At least may chance pa. Palakasan na lang ng desire."

Phoenix stormed out of the gates, erecting a 16-point lead after the first quarter and going up by as many as 31, 66-35, to start the second half on Wright's 3-pointer.

With Phoenix's big men being in foul trouble and its shooters missing, GlobalPort started to chip away at the deficit.

A split from the free-throw line by Stanley Pringle narrowed the gap to single digits, 99-90, with 3:30 left, before a layup by Terrence Romeo made it 102-98 26 seconds remaining.

But after a free throw by Jeff Chan, GlobalPort couldn't make a shot in its next possession, thus securing the win for Phoenix.

GlobalPort secured a spot in the quarterfinals but awaits which seed it falls to.

For Alas, Phoenix losing big leads has been a trend this conference.

"Di kami matututo. This is the fourth time, fifth time. Kung di malaki lead namin, baka nandoon kami sa kabilang side," Alas said, referring to his team's possible elimination.

"We're up by 28 . . . hindi ko sinabi sa kanila until 'yung lead namin 12 points na lang. Parang na-pressure pa ata, masyadong nag-protect ng lead . . . Siguro kelangan pa namin ng mga ganitong games para matuto kami."

The loss spoiled Romeo's debut after missing the first 10 games of the conference because of a knee injury.

He finished with team-high 20 points on 8-of-18 shooting coming off the bench.

Stanley Pringle added 16 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals for GlobalPort, which shot an atrocious 5 of 35 from 3-pointer territory, good for just 14%.

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