Electrifying start for defense-minded Meralco
It was supposed to be the first tough match of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, but TNT import Lou Amundson groped his way around in his debut and the Meralco Bolts went on to nail a third straight victory with a 94-89 decision of the highly rated KaTropa last week.
Meralco matched this early its total number of wins in the recent Philippine Cup where the Bolts failed to reach the quarterfinals after dropping eight of their 11 games in the eliminations by again limiting the opposition under 90 points behind a no-nonsense defense anchored on their well-built American import Alex Stepheson.
Amundson, a 10-year NBA veteran who played for the New York Knicks last season, managed 19 points and 18 rebounds but was hardly a factor in the last quarter when the Bolts staged another strong finish as in their earlier wins over Mahindra (94-86) and NLEX (91-84). KaTropa Jayson Castro also sat out the game with an injured foot.
Stepheson backed up his 20-point performance with 28 rebounds. His imposing presence under the boards has also given the local Bolts enough confidence to mount an aggressive offense that seemed to be their trademark this time.
Jared Dillinger, Baser Amer and Chris Newsome have consistently delivered so far for Meralco, the losing finalist in last year’s Governors’ Cup won by Barangay Ginebra.
With their respective reinforcements acquitting themselves well, defending champion Rain or Shine, Alaska and Star are unbeaten so far, conquering their lowly rivals, while Ginebra and San Miguel Beer continued to enjoy extended breaks following their title showdown in the Philippine Cup which the Beermen ruled for the third straight season early this month.
The Elasto Painters, now boasting of former GlobalPort import Shawn Taggert, downed Mahindra in overtime, 99-95, three days after pinning a second loss in as many meetings this year with their former coach Yeng Guiao by downing NLEX, 113-105. Taggart had 23 points against the Floodbuster and 29 against the Road Warriors.
Although three local mainstays remained in sick bay, the Aces blasted the Blackwater Elite, 109-95, with Cory Jefferson unloading 29. Jefferson had 28 in an earlier 107-79 Alaska win over GlobalPort, which played minus the sick Terrence Romeo.
Romeo was back in action last Saturday when the Batang Pier tangled with the Star Hotshots, who proved just too good with a 103-77 rout in Tubod, Lanao del Norte. Tony Mitchell had a 22-point, 17-rebound performance for Star after a 24-26 effort in a 101-82 whipping of Phoenix earlier.
Phoenix showed up with a decent replacement for the explosive Eugene Phelps, but Jameel McKay and the Fuel Masters proved easy prey again for the Hotshots, who clobbered them black and blue in their three meetings in the Philippine Cup. Phelps subbed for McKay and fired 53 points as Phoenix nipped Blackwater in double overtime, 118-116, last week before leaving for Puerto Rico to honor an earlier playing commitment.
Mahindra finally broke into the winner’s row with an 89-81 win over NLEX, which remains in the cellar at 0-3.
Ginebra, which will bring back Justin Browlee who clinched the Governors’ Cup for the Gin Kings last year, gets going against Phoenix in Davao City on April 1.
