LUCENA – Thirsty for redemption, Nico Salva quickly made his presence felt off the Meralco Bolts bench — making crucial baskets to keep the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel at bay in the second half of the 2019 PBA Governors' Cup Finals Game 2 on Friday at the Quezon Convention Center.
The 29-year-old made the most of the extra opportunity in Meralco's close win over Ginebra, 104-102, and contributed nine points, two rebounds, and four assists in 17 quality minutes for a Bolts squad that sorely lacked production from its bench during a lost series opener.
The two-time UAAP Finals Most Valuable Player was laser-focused on doing damage even in limited run, which finally came during the third quarter of the crucial match.
"Entering the game, I wasn't even sure I'm going to get in because I didn't play in Game 1," he shared in an interview with SPIN Life. "When I got the opportunity in the second half, I just wanted to help my team. If I have open shots, I'll take them, if I have to make the right passes, rebounds, and defense, I'll do it. Thankfully, nakatulong ako and we got the win today."
Apparently, it was all part of Meralco's game plan to make the necessary adjustments and dig deep into their bench for more outside shooting, after Coach Norman Black observed the poor collective performance from his reserves in Game 1.
"I think we really needed that bench-scoring to give a lift to Allen Durham and to create some space for him. Nards [Pinto] was able to hit threes in the first half, while Baser Amer made triples in the second. It was great for us, thankfully," he added.
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