Meralco cuffs Barako Bull, enters quarters

MANILA, Philippines – Meralco played tough defense to avert imminent collapse, shutting down Barako Bull for nearly six minutes in a crucial stretch in the fourth quarter to hack out an 85-73 win and formalize its quarterfinals entry in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight.

Using the lesson learned in their heartbreaking loss to Rain or Shine where they blew away a 26-point bubble, the Bolts stayed cool and composed under pressure, and went on to squeeze out a seventh win against six losses.

“Our heartbreaking losses are all worth it for as long we learn something from it. Today after relinquishing a big lead, we knew how to react. We lost a big lead, but we got back on defense,” said Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio.

“I was so confident we would be able to pull through because it already happened to us. As I told the boys, if things happen to you, it should not happen again,” Gregorio also said.

Gregorio insisted defense was the key, and it really was with the Bolts holding down the Energy Cola after the latter trimmed a 19-point lead down to six, 67-73, with 8:11 left to play.

Meralco kept Barako Bull scoreless in the next six minutes, reestablishing a comfortable lead, 82-67, entering the last two minutes of the contest.

The Energy Cola failed to sustain the momentum of their late rally and stayed buried deep at ninth place with a 3-9 win-loss card.

With their second straight win, the Bolts boosted their bid for a Top Six finish in the elimination round.

“We play San Mig Coffee 10 days from today. What’s nice is we still have control of our destiny. We still have a shot at No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6. That’s where we want to be,” said Gregorio.

Meanwhile, Alaska Milk presses its own bid for a place in the Top Six as it plays Globalport in the Dipolog swing of the Phoenix Fuel PBA on Tour at 6:30 p.m. tonight. It’s the first time in 20 years that the pro league visits the Zamboanga del Norte capital.

Rookie Kelly Nabong dished out a solid game for a second straight game, topscoring for Meralco with 12 points on 4-of-4 field goals and 4-of-5 foul shots.

Sol Mercado, Reynel Hugnatan and Sunday Salvacion added 11 points each and the whole team worked their butts out on the defensive end, holding the Energy to a poor 31.7-percent shooting.

The Bolts, on the other hand, hit at a 43.5-percent clip.

Nabong and Mercado were at the forefront of their attack as the Bolts took their 19-point lead at 64-45 late in the third quarter.