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    Maliksi's timely baskets carry Meralco past Rain or Shine

    Maliksi finds touch just in time for Bolts
    Feb 20, 2022
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    Allein Maliksi found his range just in time for Meralco.

    ALLEIN Maliksi scored 12 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter as Meralco returned to its winning ways with a 93-88 win over Rain or Shine on Sunday in the 2021 PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

    Maliksi's timely baskets helped the Bolts improve to 5-1 (win-loss) and bounce back from their lopsided defeat at the hands of NorthPort last Thursday.

    Bishop steps up

    Rain or Shine dropped its second consecutive game and slipped to 3-5 after blowing a nine-point third quarter lead.

    Tony Bishop also made an impact in the second half on his way to a game-high 26 points and 14 rebounds.

    Raymond Almazan also kept Meralco in the game with key conversions inside the paint to finish with 17 points and seven rebounds. He scored six straight points in a 10-0 run which erased a 62-53 Rain or Shine lead.

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      Maliksi then took over and his three-point play along with a jumper by Bong Quinto got Meralco up by nine, 89-80, the largest lead of the game for the Bolts.

      Quinto also had a hand in sealing the victory, making a perfect inbound pass to a cutting Chris Banchero for a layup that padded the Meralco lead to 92-88 with 19.6 seconds left.

      The Bolts got the much-needed offense from Maliksi, who only shot 1 of 5 from the field in the first half. Meralco was trailing 51-45 at halftime when head coach Norman Black urged his team to play better defense.

      “We talked about it at halftime that we were struggling offensively because just like our last game against NorthPort, Rain or Shine was switching all the pick and rolls particularly on our import and we were having a hard time getting to a rhythm offensively," said Black after his 701st career victory as a coach.

      "So we talked about it at halftime that we are just going to focus on our defense,” Black added.

      Henry Walker had 24 points and 10 rebounds while Rey Nambatac returned from injury and had 12 points for the slumping Elastopainters. Beau Belga also had 12 points but was ejected in the final 23-second mark for his second technical foul.

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      The scores:

      Meralco 93 – Bishop 26, Maliksi 19, Almazan 17, Newsome 8, Banchero 6, Belo 6, Black 5, Caram 4, Quinto 2, Hodge 0.

      Rain or Shine 88 – Walker 24, Nambatac 12, Belga 12, Borboran 10, Nieto 10, Caracut 8, Mocon 7, Asistio 3, Ponferada 2, Jackson 0, Norwood 0, Santillan 0.

      Quarters: 20-23; 45-51; 64-65; 93-88.

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      Allein Maliksi found his range just in time for Meralco.
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