P’foods import delivers vs FedEx

Purefoods, drawing strength from a do-it-all young import in Marcus Melvin, checked its slump in time to drub FedEx, 98-87, and move in the threshold of the Gran Matador PBA Fiesta Cup quarterfinals at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

Melvin gave the Hotdogs tremendous boost both offensively and defensively as they snapped a four-game losing skein in Game One of their best-of-three wildcard playoff with the Express.

Settling for No. 8 seeding in the post-classification round plays, the Hotdogs could sneak into the quarterfinals with a win tomorrow or Wednesday.

"We’re really looking for an import who can rebound, defend and help us make the points. We’ve never had that combination in our first two imports," said Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio.

The 23-year-old Melvin, a product of North Carolina State who had played with the Chicago Bulls and the Denver Nuggets in a couple of pre-NBA Draft camps and summer leagues, had a remarkable debut with the Hotdogs with 33 points, 21 rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block.

Purefoods’ first two imports in Antonio Smith and Lorenzo Coleman were great rebounders but were lacking on offense. Smith averaged just 14.6 points in 11 games and Coleman 17.3 points in six games.

"Mukhang nakakuha na talaga kami ng panlaban. But we’re lucky tonight because Marcus was not scouted, having been in the country for four days," said Gregorio. "Next time, I’m sure Pig Miller will be more than ready for him."

Melvin’s energy and intensity seemed to rub off on his teammates as the Hotdogs had their highest output after two 95-point game versus Shell and Talk n Text in the classification round.

Noy Castillo, James Yap and Paul Artadi also came up with significant numbers as the Hotdogs dominated the Express, leading by as many as 20 points in the fourth quarter.

The Hotdogs took control of the entire final half, giving Gregorio the luxury of resting Melvin after the 6-foot-8 import hurt his left foot following a fastbreak play that gave Purefoood a 72-60 cushion.

After FedEx trimmed a 63-78 gap to 67-78, Gregorio sent back Melvin, and the Hotdogs unleashed a dizzying 11-2 run to pull away, 89-69.

The Express still waged a fightback, enabling them to cut the deficit to what it was in the end.