The struggling Meralco Bolts fought to keep their fading advantage at endgame and got a lift from Aaron Black and Bong Quinto to put away the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 77-73, on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Black’s triple and Quinto’s split free throw provided ample cushion for the Bolts to preserve whatever advantage they had in the last minute as they pulled of their fourth triumph in six games in the 2022 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup.
The Bolts, playing with assistant coach Luigi Trillo calling the shots, had trouble holding on to a six-point lead after Black banged in a triple in the last 35.6 seconds, 76-70.
The Elasto Painters fought to stay close and they did, threatening to within three, 73-76, off three freebies from Mark Borboran.
But Quinto kept ROS from coming closer and shot a free throw off Leo Santillan’s foul with 4.8 seconds remaining.
Trillo heaved a sigh of relief over the Bolts’ close call with ROS, saying he hasn’t handled head coaching duties in the last eight years.
“It’s been eight years since I last coached. I was not in my flow. I just let the players talk before the game,” said Trillo, who took over after Norman Black went to the US to attend to his ailing mother.
Ronnie Magsanoc was supposed to come in, but he went to Singapore for Gilas’ FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup campaign.
The younger Black fired a game-high 20 points for the Bolts as they rebounded from two straight losses.
Allein Maliksi added 19, Cliff Hodge had 13 and Raymund Almazan chipped in 10 points and 15 boards.
Gabe Norwood knocked in 13 points for ROS, which now has a 1-5 slate.