GUNSHY the entire game, all it took was a little bit of encouragement from import Marvin Jones for Bong Quinto to get going.
And that proved to be pivotal for Meralco.
Scoreless up until the final 30 seconds of regulation, Quinto turned out to be the Bolts’ biggest hero scoring all of his 11 points in the clutch as Meralco booked a semifinals spot in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup after a pulsating 105-102 win over the Magnolia Hotshots on Saturday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
READ: Meralco survives Magnolia in OT classic to book semifinals spot
After draining a three which put the Bolts ahead by two for one last time in regulation, Quinto scored eight in the extra period including the go-ahead basket with 37 seconds remaining in the game as the Bolts avoided losing to the Hotshots for the third consecutive time.
“For me siguro yung experience sa mga ganung situation. Sabi ni Marvin sakin, I think two minutes or three minutes left in the fourth quarter, parang sabi niya na ito yung time na hindi dapat tayo matakot so everytime na may opportunity kailangan e, attack attack kasi minsan pag pinapasahan ako di ako tumitingin sa ring e,” Quinto said.
“Siguro kailangan lang ng reminder sa game, na mag-focus at i-take advantage kung anong binibigay ng kalaban satin “
Despite his heroics, Quinto couldn’t help but tip his hat off to Magnolia, particularly Jerom Lastimosa who dropped 21 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and overtime period.
“Breaks of the game rin. Kita naman natin sila Jerom talagang hindi sila tumitigil, so sobrang blessed na nabigyan kami ng magandang opportunity sa semis,” he said.
For him, this win was a character-defining one especially after the Hotshots pushed them on the brink of elimination – starting with a dominant blowout win to close out the Commissioner’s Cup elimination round, and another convincing win to start the playoffs last Wednesday.
“Shout out talaga sa Magnolia. Sobrang pinahirapan talaga kami. Almost tatlong game muntik kaming matalo sa kanila. Gaya nga ng sabi ni coach Nenad [Vucinic] ito yung pinakanahirapan kami na series sa lahat ng experience namin so shoutout sa Magnolia,” he said.
“Gaya ng sabi ni coach Nenad, naglaro kami as a team, kung ano yung system namin talagang yun yung sinandalan namin kung ano yung decision making ng coaches talagang we support them kung anong gusto nilang gawin sa gameplan namin.”
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