An early explosion in the first half paved the way for an easy route for Meralco as it crushed ousted Blackwater, 102-75, for its third straight win to clinch a berth in the quarterfinals in the 2018 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup.
Arinze Onuaku scattered 17 points and 16 rebounds, Anjo Caram scored 13 markers, while Cliff Hodge scattered all of his 12 points in the first half to lead the Bolts to an easy win.
The victory gave the Bolts their sixth victory as they improved to 6-2 and formalized their entry into the quarters.
Also, the victory enabled Meralco to still be in the running for a top two finish and a possible twice-to-beat incentive in the post-season.
Bolts’ coach Norman Black was pleased with how his team showed up.
“We came out with focus and purpose and that carried us through, allowing us to get a good lead early and establishing our game,” said Black.
From the get-go, the Bolts were focused taking care of business as they were in full command the entire contest.
Right off the gates, Meralco zoomed to a sizeable 24-12 lead in the waning seconds of the opening quarter after an aggressive start from Hodge, who scored seven points right away.
As if its burly start wasn’t enough, the Bolts doubled their effort even more in the second, catching more fire to outscore the Elite by 20 points in the quarter.
Meralco owned the second, 35-15, to break the game wide open by halftime, taking an insurmountable 59-30 spread in between the two halves.
While Hodge had all his points in the opening half, Onuaku almost had his double-double, nine points and boards, after the first two periods.
The second half was just a coast for Meralco as work was already done in the first 24 minutes of action.
The woes continued for Blackwater as it fell deeper with an abysmal 1-9 card with only a game left in its schedule.