MANILA, Philippines - Meralco rode on the momentum of a big win the last time out and shackled a scrappy Alaska side, 81-75, for solo fifth in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Bolts, who stunned the Petron Blaze Boosters, 80-70, last week, drew added firepower with the return of Macmac Cardona from a four-game layoff as he hit the big shots in the payoff period to help power the Bolts past the Aces, who reeled to their fifth straight loss.
“We wanted to make sure that we build on character on tonight’s game. We battled the best team the last time and we won. The challenge for us tonight is to win against a team struggling to win a first game in the tourney,” said Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio.
“We came back from a double-digit deficit because we refused to lose. Defense bailed us out again,” added Gregorio after steering the Bolts to their fourth win against two losses.
Chico Lanete, Mark Isip and Cardona led Meralco on offense with their double-digit outputs and the rest held Alaska down to five points in the last six minutes of the game with their stingy defense.
A missed jumper by Tony dela Cruz and a turnover by Cyrus Baguio inside the final minute hastened their downfall, keeping the Aces winless in their post-Tim Cone era.
They’re now in their worst start in a tourney since going 0-5 in the 2001 Governors Cup.
After Baguio fumbled a crossover move, Gabby Espinas clinched the win for the Bolts with two charities to make it 79-75 with time down to 11 seconds.
The Aces erected a 10-point lead, 52-42, in the third quarter but the Bolts slowly got back and surged ahead at 74-70, leaning heavily on the exploits of Lanete, Cardona, Sol Mercado and Asi Taulava.
And the Bolts kept their poise and composure as they outmaneuvered the Aces at the finish.
Lanete topscored for the Bolts with 17 points while Isip and Cardona added 10 apiece and Mercado, Espinas and Nelbert Omolon seven apiece.
Four Talk n Text players put up huge numbers, giving the crippled team the needed lift to beat Petron Blaze, 96-86, for a share of the lead with Rain or Shine later in the night.
Jared Dillinger and Ryan Reyes top-scored with 21 points each while Japeth Aguilar and Ali Peek combined for 32 points and 29 rebounds as the Texters bucked the absence of injured players Jimmy Alapag, Harvey Carey and Ranidel de Ocampo.
The win somehow eased the pain of the Texters’ loss to the Boosters in the Governors Cup finals.
“We’re playing with a complete roster now. Macmac (Cardona) hit big in the fourth quarter; Chico (Lanete) came into play when Sol (Mercado) was guarded. It was pretty much a team effort,” said Gregorio.
“Somebody is stepping up when somebody is not present offensively. Everyone is making a difference,” added Gregorio, satisfied with their upsurge.
The two teams engaged in a toe-to-toe battle in the first half with neither one leading by more than six points.
Alaska took command in the third period but couldn’t pull away, closing the quarter at 56-52.
Meanwhile, surging Barako Bull seeks a share of the lead in going up against B-Meg in a Phoenix Fuel-sponsored road game in Panabo, Davao del Norte at 6:45 p.m. tonight.