MERALCO leaned on an early good advantage to withstand the late rally of Calvin Oftana and Northern Luzon Expressway (NLEX) for a 104-101 victory on Wednesday in Season 46 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup at the Don Honorio Ventura State University gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.
Ahead by 85-65 in the third period, the Bolts almost squandered their lead in the payoff period but banked on their stifling defense to stop the Road Warriors on the way to clinching the No. 2 quarterfinal slot and the twice-to-beat bonus with an 8-2 record.
“The last eight minutes maybe wasn’t that very pretty, but at this season point of the season every win counts, and now we can look forward to our game against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel tomorrow [Thursday] and to the playoffs,” Meralco coach Norman Black said during the post-game interview.
Allein Maliksi was on target, firing 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting from beyond the arc, while rookie Alvin Pasaol started the onslaught of Meralco by hitting eight of his 17 points in the opening canto to lead Meralco. Mac Belo tallied 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists also for the Bolts.
NLEX came within 101-103 with just 2.1 seconds after Calvin Oftana’s three-point play. But with not enough time left, the Bolts escaped and pushed the Road Warriors to the seventh spot with a 5-6 record. Oftana racked up 13 of his game-high 34 points, but it wasn’t enough to spoil the Bolts.
The twice-to-beat incentive is the first for the Meralco 11-year franchise.
Raymond Almazan had a dominating performance of 13 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks, while Anjo Caram had 10 points, and Bong Quinto filled the stats sheet with 10 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and two steals.
Only two players didn’t suit up for Meralco—Reynel Hugnatan who went to Bacolod to attend the funeral of his mother and Aaron Black who is nursing with a dislocated right hand injury.
Bolts wrest twice-to-beat advantage in quarterfinals
Source: News Paper Radio
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