MERALCO forced a Game 7 against Barangay Ginebra for the last 2024 PBA Philippine Cup finals berth.
The Bolts played steady in the pivotal fourth and turned back a late Kings comeback to pull off an 86-81 Game 6 win last Wednesday to even the best-of-seven series at three games apiece.
The winner-take-all match is set Friday at the FPJ Arena in San Jose, Batangas.
READ: Meralco forces sudden death after beating Ginebra in grindout Game 6
The victor will face reigning and defending - and well-rested - champion San Miguel in the best-of-seven finals beginning June 5.
Here are the takeaways in Game 6 of the semis at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
QUINTO CLUTCH FOR MERALCO
Thrust into the starting lineup for the first time in the series, Bong Quinto proved he was up to the task as he torched the Kings for a career-high 23 points, including 10 in the final frame where he teamed up with Allein Maliksi to keep rallying Ginebra at bay.
The former Letran stalwart punctuated his career-best by going 9-of-16 from the floor, hitting half of his six attempts from deep. He added three rebounds and an assist in 32 quality minutes of play, all while committing no turnovers.
SAN JOSE BATANGAS PRAYED FOR A MERALCO WIN IN GAME 6?
Tim Cone was vocal about dreading playing a Game 7 at the FPJ Arena in San Jose, Batangas. The league's winningest coach said that as much as he appreciated the surefire fan support they'd get in the province, he’d rather have the Kings wrap up the seven-game series by Game 6.
He even apologized to the people of Batangas about him being happy if and when Ginebra fails to see them, as it would've meant the semis was over and the Kings were onto the finals. But as fate would have it, there was to be sudden death, and Cone now has to live up to his words that should there be Game 7, both the Kings and Bolts will be putting on ‘a show for them (fans in San Jose).’
MERALCO SHOOK UP ITS ROSTER
After losing back-to-back games, the Bolts made personnel adjustments - the most impactful being putting Quinto in the starting unit, with Maliksi coming off the bench. The ploy obviously worked as the two combined for 22 of Meralco’s 32 points in the fourth quarter.
Coach Luigi Trillo and active consultant Nenad Vucinic also threw a new body against Japeth Aguilar and Christian Standhardinger by playing seldom-used banger Raymar Jose for some spare minutes in the second half to give some rest for foul-troubled Raymond Almazan. Rookie Brandon Bates played major minutes as well in the final frame, as he held his own against Standhardinger and got nine rebounds and two points.
JAPETH IS SILENT WORKER FOR GINEBRA
While the spotlight has mostly been on the 6-foot-8 Standhardinger, the 6-foot-9 Aguilar has been a picture of consistency for the Kings. He scored in double-figures in the last four games of the series, including 19 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks in the Game 6 loss.
In all, the 37-year-old big man is averaging a team-second-best 14.8 points on top of 7.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in the semis.
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