MERALCO went on huge third-quarter attack, and staved off a late rally by Rain or Shine to pull off a 85-78 win on Thursday in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Angeles University Foundation Sports Arena and Cultural Center.
The Bolts outscored the Elastopainters, 28-7, in the third period, but got a dose of their own medicine after being limited to only 11 points in the fourth. Fortunately for the Bolts, the gap they established in the third was enough as they posted a 5-3 win-loss slate following victories in back-to-back days in the compressed bubble schedule.
The Elastopainters, who trailed by as big as 23 points, have slipped to their second straight defeat for a 4-3 slate despite a gallant rally after scoring 27 in the fourth.
Despite the near collapse, Meralco coach Norman Black was satisfied with the overall performance of the club.
“We really talked about trying to come out strong in the third quarter,” said Black. “In some of the past games, that’s been one of our weakness, coming out of the dugout strong at halftime. I’m very, very happy with our defense. Our offense was clicking against their zone defense. In that third quarter, we were making our shots and executing very well. We were actually playing well in the second half up until the last five, six minutes of the game when things seemed to turn around.
“But under the circumstances, we are 5-3. Just happy to get the victory and move on,” Black added.
Chris Newsome delivered 17 points, while Baser Amer played one of his best games in the bubble, contributing 14 points, six rebounds, and seven assists for the Bolts.
Amer buried a triple in Meralco’s 22-2 run that turned a 48-46 lead into a 70-48 advantage. The Bolts ended the quarter with a 74-51 lead, the biggest in the match.
The Bolts kept their composure despite the young guns of the Elastopainters led by rookies Vince Tolentino and Adrian Wong able to cut the lead to nine points, 80-71, but Bong Quinto connected on a lay-up to increase the gap to 11 points, enough for them to end the rally.
Reynel Hugnatan continued his superb play in the bubble with 13 points for Meralco.
The loss spoiled James Yap’s first stellar offensive night of the conference after scoring a game-high 18 points for the Elastopainters. Norbert Torres and Beau Belga each had 11 points in the contest.
The scores:
Meralco 85 – Newsome 17, Amer 14, Hugnatan 13, Maliksi 9, Hodge 8, Quinto 8, Jamito 6, Black 5, Almazan 4, Pinto 1, Jackson 0, Salva 0.
Rain or Shine 78 – Yap 18, Torres 11, Belga 11, Nambatac 8, Wong 6, Borboran 6, Tolentino 6, Mocon 5, Onwubere 3, Norwood 2, Ponferada 2, Rosales 0.
Quarters: 27-28; 46-44; 74-51; 85-78.
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