MERALCO lit it up from three-point land in the final quarter to take down league-leader NorthPort, 111-94, on Tuesday in the PBA 49th Commissioner’s Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Aside from their fiery shooting, the Bolts' defense limited the usually high-scoring Batang Pier to their fewest points in a game this conference on the way to their sixth win in nine outings.
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NorthPort dropped to 7-2, losing big less than a week after bringing down tournament favorite Barangay Ginebra last Wednesday.
The Batang Pier stayed in first place in the standings, and remained a win short of a guaranteed place in the quarterfinals, at least, for this game after missing the 100-point mark for the first time this conference.
Akil Mitchell tallied 30 points, 13 rebounds, and five steals, while Chris Banchero scored a conference-high 25 points in his fourth game with the Bolts in the Commissioner’s Cup after being hit by a hamstring injury.
Meralco nailed seven threes in the fourth quarter against NorthPort's three the whole ballgame after making 14 in the Ginebra game.
“NorthPort has been playing really good basketball. They deserve every win. They have been taking down quality teams. Like some of the coaches said, they are the real deal," said Bolts coach Luigi Trillo.
"But today, we played better defensively. We know this team can score the ball," he added.
Kadeem Jack had 29 points, 14 rebounds, and two steals, while Arvin Tolentino had 19 points but only shot 4-for-11 from the field for NorthPort. Joshua Munzon had an all-around outing of 12 points, eight rebounds, and six steals, but only made 3 of his 10 attempts.
Meralco led by as many as 22 points thanks to its hot shooting from beyond the arc where it ended up with 11, tying its conference-high set in its conference debut against Phoenix.
The Bolts’ next assignment will be against San Miguel in an out-of-town game in Candon, Ilocos Sur on Saturday.
NorthPort faces another test when it collides with Rain or Shine on Thursday.
The scores:
Meralco 111 – Mitchell 30, Banchero 25, Newsome 15, Quinto 8, Rios 8, Cansino 7, Mendoza 6, Caram 5, Almazan 4, Reyson 2, Pascual 1, Torres 0, Hodge 0, Bates 0.
NorthPort 94 – Jack 29, Tolentino 19, Munzon 12, Navarro 11, Nelle 8, Onwubere 7, Miranda 5, Yu 3, Bulanadi 0, Flores 0, Taha 0, Cuntapay 0, Tratter 0.
Quarters: 24-21; 54-44; 82-69; 111-94.
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