A few days after they got robbed right inside the Mall of Asia Arena, the Meralco Bolts rebounded by finishing strong and beating the Air21 Express. Sol Mercado and Mac Cardona combined for 42 points to lead the Bolts, now at 3 wins and 2 losses, while Reynel Hugnatan and Jay-R Reyes paired up for 17 points and 24 rebounds down low.
Meralco employed great defense here, limiting all but one Express player to single digits (John Wilson netted 16 points), while also forcing 19 Air21 turnovers. Meralco coach Ryan Gregorios wards shot a blistering 41% from beyond the arc, highlighted by a combined 10 treys from Mercado, Cardona, and Ronjay Buenafe.
In the second game, the Boosters relied on steady execution in the second half to turn back the tough-fighting Ginebra Kings. Alex Cabagnot came through this time around, seemingly responding to the call-out made by teammate Arwind Santos after their previous loss, scoring 25 points while dishing out 9 assists. For his part, Santos recorded a monster double-double, scoring 22 markers, collaring 17 rebounds, and blocking 2 shots. Former Gilas standout Chris Lutz, who engaged Ginebra ace Mark Caguioa in a word war throughout the match, also did well, putting up 18 points. Former Green Archer Joseph Yeo, meanwhile, hit 4 triples on his way to finishing with 16 markers.
Caguioa led the Kings with 23 points, but he shot just 9-of-25 from the field. LA Tenorio also had a good game, bouncing back from his subpar performance last Friday by recording 15 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds. It was all for naught, however, as Ginebra fell for the third time in a row after winning its first two assignments.
Game Recaps: MERALCO BOLTS over AIR21 EXPRESS, 85-72
Meralco notched a win that somehow eased the pain on its horrific experience from its previous trip at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Bolts vented their ire on the Air 21 Express for an 85-72 win in the 2013 PBA Philippine Cup, coming out winners this time at the state-of-the-art venue in Pasay City.
We defended well today. We defended our things well and the numbers put up by Air 21 are not so significant, said Meralco head coach Ryan Gregorio, who was among Bolts member victimized by thieves who ransacked their locker room last Wednesday, during halftime of their 105-104 loss to GlobalPort.
After that harrowing experience, we were able to bounce back strong, came out with better focus, competed and played good basketball.
Gregorio blamed himself on their one-point loss to Batang Pier but his players came out with better focus and determination for 48 minutes to claim their third win in five matches.
With Meralco management deploying its own security personnel for the locker room, the Bolts were able to concentrate on the battle on the court.
Solomon Mercado finished with a game-high 24 points spiked by five three-pointers, while Mark Cardona and Ronjay Buenafe contributed 18 and 13 points, respectively, for the Bolts
Reynel Hugnatan also came up huge for Meralco with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
John Wilson was the lone Air 21 player in double figures with 16 points. The Express win-loss record dropped to 1-4.
Air 21 was in the thick of things early in the fourth quarter, trailing 63-59, before Hugnatan and Cardona joined forces for a decisive 16-3 burst to pull away from a tight contest with 5:13 left in the game.
Were lacking consistency right now. We can compete in certain level but we cant execute down the stretch, said Express coach Franz Pumaren. I guess the players are still feeling each other.
PETRON BLAZE BOOSTERS over BGY. GINEBRA KINGS, 98-95
Arwind Santos scored 22 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, while Alex Cabagnot added 25 points as Petron snapped its two-game Philippine Cup losing streak with a 98-95 victory over Ginebra Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The victory came just two days after Santos called out his teammates for lacking heart. In earlier comments to InterAKTV, he specifically mentioned Cabagnots play.
After the game, Santos stood by his statements.
Alam niya naman kung bakit ako nagsalita ng ganoon. Alam niya naman ang pagkatao ko, said Santos.
Sana yung pagkakabitaw ko ng salitang yun, sana magtuloy-tuloy pa. Sana maintindihan nila ako. Sabi ko kay Alex, Prove it to me.
Petron was up in the fourth quarter, 89-80, on a layup by Joseph Yeo, before Ginebra rattled off an 11-2 run to come within two points. A putback by Willie Wilson a couple of plays later tied the game at 95-all.
Petron regained the lead on a layup by Joseph Yeo, before LA Tenorio threw the ball away in the ensuing possession with less than 10 seconds to go. Ginebra sent Cabagnot to the line, and the Boosters point guard split his free throws.
Mark Caguioa had one last shot to tie the game for Ginebra, but his three-point attempt hit the back of the iron, allowing Santos to collar the rebound to seal the win.
Cabagnot added eight assists, while Chris Lutz had 18 points. Yeo chipped in 16 points, including four three-pointers.
I think Petron plays better with an injured lineup, said Boosters coach Olsen Racela, who lost veteran Danny Ildefonso during the game due to a dislocated left shoulder. The team is already without top pick June Mar Fajardo, who underwent an operation for his swollen scrotum.
It really shows the character of the team. Everyone is helping out, added Racela.
It was Ginebras third consecutive loss after winning its first two Philippine Cup assignments. Petron moved into a tie with the Gin Kings in the standings with similar 2-3 win-loss records.
Ginebra bounces back to dominate Meralco in Game 5, moves on verge of title repeat - 19 hours ago
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Barangay Ginebra thrived in a raucous atmosphere as it frustrated Meralco, 85-74, on Sunday night to move on the verge of a successful title defense of the PBA Governors' Cup. The Gin Kings drew rejuvenated performances from LA Tenorio and Greg Slaughter, while Justin Brownlee put up another all-around showing as usual as they delivered on both ends to take Game Five in front of the second-biggest crowd in league history of over 36,445 fans at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan [read more]
Barangay Ginebra thrived in a raucous atmosphere as it frustrated Meralco, 85-74, on Sunday night to move on the verge of a successful title defense of the PBA Governors' Cup. The Gin Kings drew rejuvenated performances from LA Tenorio and Greg Slaughter, while Justin Brownlee put up another all-around showing as usual as they delivered on both ends to take Game Five in front of the second-biggest crowd in league history of over 36,445 fans at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan. 'Meralco has done a really good job of grinding out wins against us and that's really what we've always tried to be about - a grind out, defensive type team and so we talked about getting back to our identity,' Gin Kings coach Tim Cone said as his team bounced back after two losses to regain the lead at 3-2 in the series. 'I thought we were able to take away some of their (Bolts') strengths, while we took advantage of ours,' he added. The Gin Kings can finish off the Bolts in Game Six on Wednesday night also at the 55,000-seat Philippine Arena. Scoreless in over 31 minutes in Game Four, Tenorio turned aggressive from the get-go this time as he fired nine points in the opening canto to spark the Gin Kings' solid start and finished with 17 points on top of six boards, four assists, and three steals in 40 minutes. Greg Slaughter finally lived up to his tag as the Best Player of the Conference as he churned out 17 points 16 boards, six blocks, and one assist in 33 minutes as a starter as he took advantage of his size against a shorter Meralco frontline. Brownlee led the Gin Kings with 20 points, on top of 12 rebounds, five assists, three steals, and one block, without committing a single turnover in 46 minutes. The do-it-all Ginebra import scored on a lefty layup off a Kevin Ferrer assist and completed a three-point play that gave the Gin Kings a 77-70 lead halfway through the payoff period and proved to be turning point of the game. Allen Durham also filled the stats sheet as usual with 27 points, 19 caroms, five assists, and three blocks, but unlike Browlee, the Meralco reinforcement failed to get significant local help from Chris Newsome and Baser Amer. Still, the Bolts managed to erase an early 18-point deficit, but lost steam in the end as they failed to sustain their back-to-back wins, leaving them in a do-or-die game on Wednesday. Courtesy of: spin.ph
Meralco evens finals series in Game 4 win over Ginebra - 3 days ago
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The Meralco Bolts remained composed down the stretch to pull off an 85-83 win over Barangay Ginebra in Game 4 and equalize their best-of-7 PBA Governors' Cup finals at the Araneta Coliseum Friday, October 20. The game was tied at 83-all with over a minute left before Meralco import Allen Durham (198-F/C-88, college: Grace Bible) scored an easy bucket down low off a magnificent drop pass from Reynel Hugnatan(193-F-78) to give the Bolts an 85-83 lead. With more than 40 seconds remaining in... [read more]
The Meralco Bolts remained composed down the stretch to pull off an 85-83 win over Barangay Ginebra in Game 4 and equalize their best-of-7 PBA Governors' Cup finals at the Araneta Coliseum Friday, October 20. The game was tied at 83-all with over a minute left before Meralco import Allen Durham (198-F/C-88, college: Grace Bible) scored an easy bucket down low off a magnificent drop pass from Reynel Hugnatan (193-F-78) to give the Bolts an 85-83 lead. With more than 40 seconds remaining in the game, Ginebra had enough time to score a game-tying basket but missed all of its last 3 shots. After Sol Mercado and Justin Brownlee missed both of their three-point attempts, Meralco's Jared Dillinger (195-G/F-84, college: Hawaii) tried to score a layup off the fastbreak but was blocked by Mercado as the possession went back to Ginebra. Ginebra coach Tim Cone was seen at the sidelines barking at his players to call a timeout but no avail as Brownlee bricked his jumper attempt at the buzzer. "Our execution down the stretch was pretty good today expect for that last layup of JD (Jared Dillinger). Everything went pretty smoothly, the guys really focused in the huddle as far as instructions were concerned unlike in Game 2 and we made some big shots and some big plays down the stretch to win," said Meralco coach Norman Black. Durham paced the Bolts with another monster performance of 28 points, 22 of which came in the second half, 18 rebounds, two steals and two blocks while Chris Newsome (187-G, college: N.Mexico Highlands) finally found his touch in the series as he scored 18 points, hauled down 11 boards and dished off 4 assists. Reynel Hugnatan made his presence felt once again for the Bolts with 14 points on 4 triples, 7 rebounds and 4 assists while Baser Amer) chipped in 11 markers, highlighted by a trey late in the final period that put the Bolts up 83-80. This game marked the first time four players scored in double figures for Meralco. The Bolts led by as much as 13 points in the third period, 63-50, before the Gin Kings rallied behind Brownlee and Mark Caguioa who conjoined for a 13-5 run that cut Ginebra's deficit to just 5 points heading into the last period, 63-68. Justin Brownlee did most of the heavy lifting for Ginebra with 34 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals while Joe Devance added 15. LA Tenorio was scoreless throughout his 31 minutes of play. Game 5 of the finals will be on Sunday, October 22, at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan. Courtesy of: rappler.com
Best Player of the Conference awardee Greg Slaughter (216-C-88) had an off night just contributing 3 points. Bolts' Allen Durham (198-F/C-88, college: Grace Bible), who was awarded Best Import before tipoff, delivered another monster performance registering 25 points, 22 rebounds, seven assists, and two snatches. Baser Amer and Ranidel de Ocampo (197-F-81) added 10 points each for Meralco. Scores: Barangay Ginebra (86) - Brownlee 19, Aguilar 16, Tenorio 14, Devance 10, Thompson 9, Mer... [read more]
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings unloaded a big finishing kick in the endgame to win, 86-76, in Game 2 for the Philippine Basketball Association's (PBA) Governors Cup last October 15 (Manila time) at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
The victory gave the Gin Kings a commanding 2-0 lead over the Meralco Bolts in their best-of-seven affair for the season ending tournament.
LA Tenorio (177-PG-84) capped a 17-1 run, coming back from a double digit deficit early in the game, with a triple from way downtown in front of another sellout crowd.
Tenorio scored 10 of this 14 points in the payoff period.
Import Justin Brownlee (197-F-88, college: St.John's) completed an all-around performance tallying 19 points, 13 rebounds, two steals and seven assists, one of which resulted in Tenorio's dagger triple.
Japeth Aguilar (206-C-85, college: W.Kentucky) added 16 points and eight rebounds while Joe Devance (201-C-82, college: UTEP) finished with 10 markers, six boards, an assist and a block shot.
Best Player of the Conference awardee Greg Slaughter (216-C-88) had an off night just contributing 3 points.
Bolts' Allen Durham (198-F/C-88, college: Grace Bible), who was awarded Best Import before tipoff, delivered another monster performance registering 25 points, 22 rebounds, seven assists, and two snatches.
Aris Ignacio is from the Philippines and has always been a big fan of Philippine basketball. Aris' follows the Philippine Basketball Association since the late 80's and has learned the history and personalities of the PBA. He also has interest with other basketball tournaments in the Philippines and beyond most specifically college basketball (UAAP, NCAA), the Asian Basketball League (ABL), FIBA Asia and World Cup tournaments. Follow Aris Ignacio on Twitter at aris_ignacio.
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