IT was Philip Paniamogan’s time to shine.
The unheralded spitfire fired a career-high 25 points in just 21 minutes of action to show the way for surging Mahindra and help it rout ailing Meralco, 105-92, as the Floodbusters stayed alive in the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Paniamogan, a sophomore from Jose Rizal University, had the best game of his career, hitting seven triples out of only nine shots and shooting perfectly from the two-point area (2-of-2) for an 81-percent shooting as he towed his squad to the impressive victory.
The Floodbusters rode Paniamogan’s career night all-game long to propel it to to its second straight victory.
The much-needed win moved Mahindra up to 11th place with its improved 2-5 slate, its chances of making the top eight boosted.
While Mahindra is on the move up, the nightmare continued for Meralco as it lost its fifth game in a row. As a result, it now finds itself in the cellar at 1-6.
Five other Mahindra chargers tallied in twin-digits with Alex Mallari, Nico Salva and Jason Deutchman each scoring 13. Mike DiGregorio had 11 and Russell Escoto scored 10.
Bursting out of the gates to start the second frame, Mahindra took command following a blistering run.
The Floodbuster manufactured a 23-7 bomb that was capped off by a triple from Paniamogan, giving it a humongous 17-point advantage, 48-31, at the 5:10 mark of the second quarter.
At the half, Meralco was able to trim its deficit to 41-52, but that was the Bolts’ only moment of the game as they never truly imposed a threat to the Floodbuster.
Paniamogan led the way for the Floodbusters in that first half surge, boosting the team by scoring 11 of his points in the first 24 minutes in just less than seven minutes of play.
Following the third quarter, Mahindra kept its lead, 73-64, and it never looked back from there. It once again led by double-digits in the fourth and carried that towards triumph.
For the second straight game, Reynel Hugnatan led Meralco again with a game-high 28 points and six rebounds in another losing effort.
The scores:
MAHINDRA 105—Paniamogan 25, Mallari 13, Deutchman 13, Salva 13, Digregorio 11, Escoto 10, Yee 8, Elorde 4, Ballesteros 3, Arana 3, Revilla 2, Celda 0, Nimes 0, Eriobu 0, Teng 0.
MERALCO 92—Hugnatan 28, Newsome 19, Amer 12, Faundo 9, Uyloan 8, Daquioag 6, Grey 3, Caram 2, Chua 2, Nabong 2, Hodge 1, Buenafe 0.
Quarterscores: 25-24, 52-42, 73-64, 105-92