Bright start

Meralco beats Phoenix after trailing by 23

MANILA, Philippines —  After a scoring party by Phoenix in the first half, Meralco returned to its defensive roots after the break to turn the tide and avoid the blushes.

And with a high-voltage closeout capped by Akil Mitchell’s go-ahead one-hander, the Bolts rallied past the Fuel Masters, 111-109, to get their PBA Commissioner’s Cup bid off to a winning start last night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

It was a tale of two halves for the reigning Philippine Cup titlists, who trailed by as many as 23 in the second canto before summoning back their old form in the final 24 minutes.

The Bolts gave up a whopping 73 points in the first half while coughing up 54. And that was the main talking point in their dugout during the break.

“We’re kind of ashamed how we played in the first half. Hindi kami ganung team,” said Aaron Black, who fired 12 of his 15 points in the third and fourth to key their furious fightback.

“Meralco has always been known for defense so ‘nung halftime sinabihan kami nang ganun ni coach Nenad (Vucevic). Nahiya kami sa kanya and to the whole Meralco organization and we wanted to come out in the second half and prove we can come back and get this game.”

The Bolts went to within manageable levels with a 24-18 exchange in the third and followed it through with a telling 33-18 salvo in the fourth.

They finally took the driver’s seat on a booming triple by Bong Quinto at the 2:10 mark.

Later, guest team Eastern stormed to a leading 2-0 card after a 117-106 dispatching of

Converge (1-1).

Cameron Clark punched in 39 and 15 with two blocks to key the Hong Kong club’s followup to it 102-87 opening romp over Phoenix.