MERALCO leaned on Suleiman Braimoh, Chris Newsome, and Allein Maliksi in the clutch to repulse Rain or Shine, 107-102, on Wednesday in the 2023-24 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Philsports Arena.
Meralco vs Rain or Shine PBA Commissioner's Cup 2023 recap
Braimoh had 34 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Bolts to a close victory over a gallant fight by the Elasto Painters.
Newsome had 20 points, while Maliksi added 16 points for Meralco including key baskets in the endgame en route to the win.
The Nigerian-American import scored after Rain or Shine came to within 97-95 and Maliksi and Newsome drained back-to-back shots to put Meralco up, 105-99.
It was also Luigi Trillo’s first official win as head coach after he and active consultant Nenad Vucevic took over during the offseason.
“It’s a hard match-up for us,” said Trillo on its game against Rain or Shine. “Their pace is so hard and it was gut check time for us throughout the game.”
Meralco also won without Chris Banchero (hamstring) and rookie Brandon Bates (ankle), with Bong Quinto playing with a mask after suffering a broken nose recently.
Braimoh already had 17 points in the first half as Meralco grabbed a 63-50 lead at the break, but couldn’t put Rain or Shine away until the final minutes.
DaJuan Summers had 27 points and nine rebounds for Rain or Shine but Keith Datu made the biggest impression after the fourth overall pick in the draft had 16 points, seven rebounds, and shot 6-of-9 from the field including two threes.
The scores:
Meralco 107 – Braimoh 34, Newsome 20, Maliksi 16, Hodge 10, Dario 8, Almazan 6, Torres 5, Caram 3, Quinto 3, Black 2, Pasaol 0, Rios 0, Pascual 0.
Rain or Shine 102 – Summers 27, Datu 16, Santillan 16, Caracut 15, Clarito 13, Nambatac 7, Mamuyac 4, Belga 2, Norwood 1, Demusis 1, Asistio 0, Belo 0.
Quarters: 39-30; 63-50; 77-70; 107-102.
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