MERALCO needed a strong finishing kick to stave off any of Terrafirma’s upset effort as the Bolts played without head coach Norman Black to ram the Dyip, 105-92, in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Black wasn’t at the Big Dome because of health protocols, but his Bolts didn’t disappoint with Bong Quinto effectively subbing for an injured Chris Newsome and import Johnny O’ Bryant imposing his will over their hapless opponents.
“We just had to work as one to fill up the absence of New [Newsome],” said Quinto, who scored eight of his 17 points in their fourth-quarter breakaway. “So as long as we’re playing as a team, we’ll be getting stronger and effective in offense and defense…and you saw the result today.”
A 26-16 finishing kick did the damage on the Dyip, who rolled to their fourth straigt loss in the Commissioner’s Cup and at 21st straight setback since last season’s Governor’s Cup.
O’Bryant scored 31 points and pulled down 11 rebounds with four assists and three steals to lead Meralco, while Allein Maliksi made 18 points.
Chris Banchero finished with 12 points, five rebounds and seven assists for the Bolts, who improved 1-2 won-lost.
“Terrafirma has been playing great against Magnolia and Rain or Shine,” Assistant Coach Luigi Trillo said. “They attacked our pick and rolls, and they took us one-on-one and hit a lot of threes, so we had to regroup [fourth period].”
The Dyip looked well-oiled three fourths of the way. They led after the first quarter, 27-26, kept the Bolts at Bay at the half, 55-52, and were ahead 79-76 entering the fourth quarter.
But they ran out of gas in the final period.
“I think we became more effective when we shared the ball well with more players were scoring like Bong, Allein and Chris Banchero,” Trillo added, whose team will play Converge next on October 15.
Import Lester Prosper scattered 35 points and hauled down 18 rebounds with three blocks for the Dyip.
Image credits: Rudy Esperass