ANTIPOLO – KG Canaleta was one of the unsung heroes for Meralco in its win over Blackwater on Friday in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
Canaleta scored all his 13 points in the second quarter to help the Bolts in their 106-97 win over the Elite at the Ynares Center. The 37-year-old Canaleta’s performance came after suffering a hamstring injury during the offseason.
The Bolts took the lead for good in the second quarter with Canaleta scoring six points in their 8-0 run in that period and never looked back.
While Allen Durham, Raymond Almazan and Baser Amer took over in the second half, Canaleta’s effort didn’t go unnoticed.
“He gave us a big lift in the first half,” said Bolts coach Norman Black, glad to get a solid contibution from the forward in just 13 minutes of action.
“I couldn't use him as much in the second half because they went big. They used Rabeh (Al-Hussaini) and (Marqus) Blakely at the same time, which made it difficult for me to match up KG with.
“Of course, Ray was playing the three-position so I don't think that's a very good matchup for KG. He didn't play as much in the second half, but he gave us a big lift in the first. He really came up big for us,” said Black.
Canaleta is only averaging 4.0 points prior to his big game against Blackwater. He also missed two games due to a hamstring injury during the offseason.
He is happy with the limited minutes.
“Galing kasi ako sa injury kaya inuunti-unti ako ni coach. Hindi rin niya ako pino-force. At least ngayon, nakatulong na sa team. Adjustment ko kasi from pahinga, talagang walang exercise. Nung nakabalik na ako, dahan dahan. Itong game na ‘to, naka-develop ako ng confidence,” said Canaleta.