Meralco’s Akil Mitchell (left) against NLEX’s Michael Watkins in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup. Photo from PBA Images.
MANILA — The Meralco Bolts boosted their hopes of entering the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals after tallying their fifth victory in the conference.
They took care of business against the NLEX Road Warriors through a 105-91 win on Friday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila to improve to 5-3 as they hit the crucial baskets down the stretch.
“We haven’t been having good starts in our recent games, but this game, we were in a good rhythm,” said Bolts head coach Luigi Trillo after the game, while also hailing their defense that was led by Brandon Bates.
“Brandon was a revelation today. Marami kaming bigs, but Brandon set the tone. Akil is our player of the game, but it’s nice to see Brandon like that again. When it comes to series and the playoffs, you need that depth so maganda sa aming tulong yun,” Trillo pointed out.
Akil Mitchell led Meralco with 24 points on top of 12 rebounds, six assists, and four steals, while Bong Quinto had 16 markers, six dimes, two boards, and a steal.
CJ Cansino provided spark off the bench with 13 points and three rebounds, and also solid was who Bates had a solid eight-point, seven-rebound game with four rejections.
Only an 88-86 game after rookie Brandon Ramirez hit two free throws with still 6:13 on the game clock, the Bolts extended their advantage to seven, 93-86, after a three-pointer by Chris Newsome as well as a basket by Brandon Bates.
Meralco’s cushion furthered to nine, 97-88, after a dunk by Bates at the 3:28 mark, while a Chris Banchero basket at the four-point area with only nine seconds left on the game clock pushed it to its biggest at 14 just before the final buzzer sounded.
This win tied Meralco with Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the team standings with a 5-3 record, while NLEX, for their part, fell to 3-5 in the team standings.
Michael Watkins led all scorers with 38 points with 21 rebounds and two steals, but his seven turnovers did not help their cause in the game wherein they once held a 19-9 first-quarter lead.
It was also a subpar performance from Robert Bolick as despite posting 19 markers and 10 dimes, he committed eight of the Road Warriors’ 23 team turnovers.
The Scores:
Meralco 105 – Mitchell 24, Quinto 16, Cansino 13, Banchero 11, Black 11, Newsome 10, Hodge 9, Bates 8, Rios 3, Almazan 0, Caram 0.
NLEX 91 – Watkins 38, Bolick 19, Ramirez 12, Policarpio 6, Alas 5, Mocon 5, Torres 3, Semerad 3, Rodger 0, Fajardo 0, Miranda 0, Herndon 0, Amer 0.
Quarterscores: 29-24, 54-49, 77-70, 105-91.
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