THE hot start continues.
League-leading Meralco overcame a stiff challenge before outdueling GlobalPort, 96-88, for its fifth straight win in the 2016 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Sunday.
It was a total team effort for the Bolts as 12 of them scored and four tallied in double-figures to lead the charge for the league’s only unbeaten team.
Jared Dillinger came off the bench to top-score for Meralco with 17 points to go with five rebounds, while the steady Arinze Onuaku was his usual effective self with a double-double of 13 points and 14 boards, plus five more assists.
The Bolts are now at 5-0 and moved closer to clinching a berth in the next phase, while the Batang Pier lost their second straight game, twice in the last three days and fell to 2-3.
“It’s a good feeling to keep the train going,” said Meralco coach Norman Black. “Moving up 5-0 is going to help us down the line. We were solid in both halves.”
The two squads went toe-to-toe in the second half before the Bolts manufactured the most significant run of the game in the closing minutes.
From an 80-all standoff, Meralco came up with an 8-1 run down the stretch to grab an 88-81 advantage and kept the lead to the finish.
Chris Newsome added 15 points for Meralco and Reynel Hugnatan had 12 along with six boards, while Cliff Hodge grabbed a team-high 15 rebounds.
Continuing its rousing start this conference, Meralco willed its way to gain early advantage, taking a 25-17 lead right after one following an 11-2 run to end the first canto.
It continued its assault in the early part of the second as it opened up several 11-point leads midway in the period.
But GlobalPort, which played minus injured Stanley Pringle, fought back and started to make a game out of it, narrowing the gap to just a two points, 40-38.
That paved way to a neck-to-neck battle in the second half.
GlobalPort struggled without Pringle as the attention was solely on Terrence Romeo, who was limited to 18 points by the Meralco defense.
Calvin Warner led the Batang Pier with his game-high 29 points.
The scores:
MERALCO 96 – Dillinger 17, Newsome 15, Onuaku 13, Hugnatan 12, Amer 9, Caram 8, Hodge 6, David 5, Nabong 4, Alapag 4, Bono 2, Faundo 2.
GLOBALPORT 88 – Warner 29, Romeo 18, Semerad 11, Taha 11, Uyloan 7, Mamaril 6, Washington 4, Kramer 2, Jensen 0, Sumang 0.
Quarters: 25-17, 40-38, 65-65, 96-88.
Games Wednesday
(Ynares Sports Center, Antipolo City):
4:15 p.m. – Blackwater
vs. San Miguel
7 p.m. – Mahindra
vs. Barangay Ginebra
