JANSEN Rios buried a corner three with 9.4 seconds left as Meralco barely avoided an upset loss at the hands of minnow Terrafirma, 96-91, on Friday in the PBA 49th Season Commissioner’s Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Bolts stayed unbeaten through three games but were made to sweat in the endgame, when the Dyip rode veteran Vic Manuel and young guard Brent Paraiso to tie the game at 91 after being down by nine in the final four minutes.
DJ Kennedy, temporarily taking over the spot of the injured Akil Mitchell, spotted Rios wide open at the right corner for the trey as Meralco kept NorthPort company at the top on 3-0 records while dealing Terrafirma its fourth defeat in as many games.
Rios finished with 11 points on 3-for-5 shooting from the field, continuing his stellar play to start the conference in stepping up for a shorthanded Bolts aside without Allein Maliksi and rookies CJ Cansino and Brandon Bates.
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Kennedy, who is also Meralco’s EASL import, had 32 points on 8-for-15 shooting from the field, while also tallying six rebounds and four assists for the Bolts.
“We got lucky if you think about it,” said Meralco coach Luigi Trillo. “Maganda ‘yung start ng Terrafirma. It’s hard when you have new guys coming in, and then a new import too just like us. I thought they played very well in the first half.”
Terrafirma even held a slim 40-39 halftime lead.
“We get it together in the third, good enough to get the lead and the start of that fourth,” said Trillo.
Chris Newsome had 15 points, while Raymond Almazan added 15 points and 12 rebounds for Meralco.
Brandon Edwards finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Brent Paraiso added 20 points for the Dyip.
Vic Manuel had 13 points while leading the late Dyip charge from a 91-82 deficitwith 4:35 left in the fourth quarter. He tied the game with two free throws, 91-91, but Edwards missed from point-blank range, leading to that Rios three.
The scores:
Meralco 96 – Kennedy 32, Newsome 15, Almazan 15, Rios 11, Caram 7, Pascual 6, Quinto 4, Hodge 3, Pasaol 2, Black 1, Torres 0, Jose 0.
Terrafirma 91 – Edwards 21, Paraiso 20, Manuel 13, Sangalang 10, Melecio 9, Pringle 6, Olivario 5, Catapusan 2, Nonoy 2, Ramos 2, Ferrer 1, Hernandez 0, Zaldivar 0.
Quarters: 21-20; 39-40; 69-61; 96-91.
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