MERALCO frustrated Alaska, 89-80, on Saturday to claim its second straight win in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
Meralco vs Alaska recap
Nards Pinto and Chris Newsome set the tone for Meralco in the first half, and Alvin Pasaol and Raymond Almazan helped the Bolts cool off Alaska’s repeated rallies in the second half to come away with the win.
With the win during the lone game of the playdate, the Bolts are now 4-1 win-loss, half-a-game behind league-leader Magnolia in the team standings.
“I thought once again we played well defensively, we held the Alaska team down as far as offense is concerned. We got a big lift from a lot of players today,” said Meralco coach Norman Black.
Pinto led Meralco with 16 points, 10 in the first half as the Bolts grabbed a 41-31 lead at halftime. Newsome also had 14 points, eight coming in the first half.
Alvin Pasaol had 13 points and 3-of-3 from threes, all of which coming in the fourth quarter after Meralco, which led by as many as 16 points in the game, was only up by single digits during the final period.
Almazan also held the fort with 12 points and eight rebounds in a collective effort for the Bolts.
“Nards Pinto stepped up and did a great job for us. Alvin Pasaol came off the bench and was very good for us. Aaron Black contributed also for team. Chris Newsome was a consistent one he was there tonight. It’s a good effort from everybody. Raymond Almazan, he held down the middle for us today along with Cliff Hodge. A lot of contributions from different players coming from a lot of different areas,” Black said.
Alaska dropped to 2-3 with the Aces cutting the deficit to only one, 67-60, early in the fourth before Pasaol hit one of his triples afterwards. Pasaol had 11 points in the fourth period.
The scores:
Meralco 89 – Pinto 16, Newsome 14, Pasaol 13, Almazan 12, Black 8, Belo 7, Hugnatan 7, Hodge 4, Quinto 4, Jackson 2, Maliksi 2.
Alaska 80 – Banal 20, Ahanmisi 16, DiGregorio 10, Taha 8, Teng 7, Tratter 4, Casio 4, Brondial 4, Adamos 3, Herndon 2, Stockton 2.
Quarters: 17-14; 41-31; 62-56; 89-80.
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