MERALCO finally got the much-needed boost from its locals in a 96-63 win over dethroned champion Al Riyadi on Saturday night that gave the Philippine side an unlikely trip to the Fiba Asia Champions Cup semifinals.
Nino Canaleta and Garvo Lanete led the local support for Diamond Stone and Allen Durham as the Bolts utterly dominated the Lebanon-based squad for only their first win in the competition at the Stadium 29 in Nonthaburi, Thailand.
But the lone victory was enough for Meralco to end the preliminaries of Group B in a three-way tie with Al Riyadi and Mono Vampire - and advance to the semifinals by virtue of a superior quotient.
The Bolts will now be facing Group A’s top-seed Petrochimi of Iran in the crossover semifinals on Monday, also at Stadium 29.
The Bolts struggled in their first two games of the competition, losing to Mono Vampire, 100-92, and Alvark Tokyo, 84-73. But Meralco got a little help on Friday night when Mono Vampire was unable clinch the second semifinal spot outright after the Thailand-based squad lost to Alvark Tokyo, 108-100.
Entering the game, the Bolts needed to win by 11 points or more over Al Riyadi to secure the second spot in Group B.
Lanete had 20 points on 3-of-5 shooting from behind the arc while Stone added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Bolts. Canaleta also heated up, finishing with 18 points and hitting four of his six three-point attempts.
Everything went right for Meralco in the game as Anjo Caram scored 11 points, and Durham contributing 10 points and 14 rebounds for the Bolts, who outscored Al Riyadi, 26-7, in the second period.
Bassel Bawji contributed 19 points for Al Riyadi.
The scores:
Meralco 96 – Lanete 20, Stone 20, Canaleta 18, Caram 11, Durham 10, Amer 8, Atkins 4, Tolomia 3, Salva 2, Hugnatan 0, Jamito 0.
Al Riyadi 63 – Bawji 19, Lyons 14, Saoud 9, El Nour 7, El Kaissi 4, Akl 3, Ziade 3, El Khatib 2, Kodsi 2.
Quarters: 23-26; 49-33; 72-49; 96-63.
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