Bolts turn to Quinto in staying alive vs Fuel Masters

MANILA, Philippines – Cliff Hodge was instrumental for the Meralco Bolts' 15-point comeback against the Phoenix Fuel Masters in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals Wednesday evening.

Hodge and the Bolts were facing a twice-to-beat disadvantage against the Fuel Masters, and they went down by 15, 77-62, with 7:30 remaining.

The power forward made big plays in the fourth quarter and was instrumental to the comeback, as Meralco brought the game to overtime.

In extra time, Hodge scored a game-leading putback, but when he landed, he rolled his ankle and had to exit the game.

Now one man down, Meralco faced an uphill battle as the hot-shooting Fuel Masters just would not go down.

Bong Quinto then stepped up.    

The 6-foot-2 guard/forward played the power forward position, imposing his will and hitting crucial shots for the Bolts' 116-107 triple overtime victory over Phoenix.

In the second overtime, Phoenix had a slim two point lead, 101-99, with 2:27 remaining in the period.

Quinto tied the game with a pair of free throws with 1:24 remaining.

Ken Tuffin answered with a layup on the other end, but Quinto's short stab with 12 seconds left brought the game to a third overtime.

In the final overtime, Quinto, Allein Maliksi and Chris Newsome joined hands and scored 10 straight points to grab a 113-103 lead.

After RJ Jazul and Ken Tuffin helped Phoenix inch closer with a couple of shots, Quinto made a big stepback 3-pointer for the dagger, 116-107, with 40 seconds remaining.

Meralco head coach Luigi Trillo was all praises for Quinto's performance.

"Bong, I believe in BQ. I mean, he's got a lot in his game, I have full faith in him. We saw the mismatch and we attacked it," Trillo told reporters.

Despite the smaller-than-usual lineup, Trillo lauded Quinto for stepping up, saying he earlier played the four position even back in college.

"Sometimes, you have to find ways. Cliff was injured. Bong was comfortable at the three, but he needed to play four," the coach said.

"We have to play too small, but he's used to playing that. In Letran, he played the one, two, three, four [positions,]" he added.

Quinto, for his part, relished the opportunity given by Trillo.

"He gave me the opportunity. We had a number of bigs that could play, but he chose me to play the power forward position," Quinto said.

"So, what I wanted to show is the team could win despite being in that position."

He finished with 19 points, four assists and two rebounds for the Bolts in 44 minutes and 28 seconds of play. 

The sudden death match between the two squads will be on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.