Meralco stays unbeaten

MANILA, Philippines — Not even a fourth foul in the opening minute of the third quarter could prevent Meralco import DJ Kennedy from delivering big time in his welcome-to-the-PBA outing.

Kennedy, filling in for the injured Akil Mitchell, banged in 32 points to power the Bolts past Terrafirma, 96-91, for a 3-0 card in the Commissioner’s Cup last night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The 6-foot-6 Kennedy unleashed a 19-point barrage in the penultimate period to help Meralco seize a 16-point tear. He then added 10 in the closeout and dished out a crucial assist to Jansen Rios for the booming triple that restored a 94-91 cushion for the Bolts after the Dyip caught up at 91-91.

The win sent the Bolts to a share of pole position with idle NorthPort while sending the Dyip, who were bannered by new reinforcement Brandon Edwards, further down to 0-4.

Meralco coach Luigi Trillo said despite Kennedy’s foul woes in the third, they decided to keep him on the floor to let the import find his rhythm. Kennedy was whistled for three quick fouls in four minutes and 47 seconds of play in the first canto and sat out the second entirely.

“We know he’s capable,” said Trillo of Kennedy, whom they plucked from their East Asia Super League roster to take over after Mitchell sustained a broken nose in Mealco’s last game.

“I thought it was so hard to come in there with three fouls and take over the game. And that’s what he did,” he added.

Chris Newsome turned in a comprehensive 15-point, nine-rebound, eight-assist performance while Raymond Almazan punched in 15-11 and Rios shot 11 spiked by a 2-of-2 three-point shooting to complement their debuting import.

Later, guest team Eastern spoiled the conference debut of Governors’ Cup champ TNT, 105-84, to get back on track and improve to 3-1.  The Tropang Giga missed veterans Jayson Castro and Kelly Williams and lost starting center Poy Erram to ejection at the 7:48 of the first.