DEFENDING champion Meralco shot on top of the PBA Philippine Cup standings after whipping Terrafirma, 118-80, on Sunday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
It was the second win for the Bolts in three days to take a 2-0 record with them heading to their highly-awaited rematch with the San Miguel Beermen in the April 9 50th-anniversary celebration of the league.
In the main game, Converge barged into the win column with a 92-83 win over Phoenix.
READ Muyang in hot water for playing in MPBL while still under contract in PBA
The FiberXers, who lost a 91-89 heartbreaker to Meralco in their conference debut, are now 1-1 in a tie with the Dyip, while the Fuel Masters suffered their second straight loss minus main guy Jason Perkins.
Heading to the anniversary doubleheader of the league on Wednesday, here’s the top takeaways in the third playdate of the season-ending conference.
1. MERALCO RESTS CHRIS NEWSOME FOR THE IMPORTANT GAME AHEAD – the Bolts obviously opted to rest their main guy in time for the return bout with the Beermen. As Meralco raced ahead in the second quarter, the team took it easy on Newsome, who didn’t score the entire first half. Last year’s Philippine Cup Finals MVP finished with two points, a rebound, and two assists in 11 minutes of play. Of course, Newsome is coming off a game-winning shot against Converge in Meralco’s opening day game, 91-89. The rest of the Bolts took care of business against the Dyip and allowed the veteran Fil-Am guard to be fresh coming off the team’s tussle against the Beermen.
2. DYIP SENT CRASHING BACK TO EARTH – it was back to reality for Terrafirma following a 118-80 thrashing at the hands of Meralco. The 38-point blowout was a throwback to the losing ways of the franchise, which finished last conference’s Commissioner’s Cup with a woeful 1-11 record. But the team made heads turn when it opened its All-Filipino campaign with a 95-87 stunner of Phoenix, a rousing debut which proved to be shortlived. Meralco’s victory by the way, was highlighted by the largest winning margin in franchise history.
3. CONVERGE’S TWO-HEADED FRONTCOURT MONSTER JUST GETTING BETTER – Justin Arana and Justin Baltazar were both dominant inside in the win against Phoenix. Arana finished with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Baltazar had 16 rebounds and nine points. The top rookie pick of Season 49 could have finished in double figures in scoring had he not split his free throws with 1:21 left to play and Converge protecting a 91-79 lead. Their combined 26 rebounds proved to be the big difference in the rebounding department, where the FiberXers beat the Fuel Masters, 65-52.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
