Meralco crushes Air21

JOSEPH Yeo (left) goes for a jumper against Meralco playmaker Mike Cortez during last night’s game between both squads at Smart Araneta Coliseum. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

Meralco broke into the win column in a big way last night after tearing Air21 to shreds in the middle two quarters of a 112-79 victory in the PLDT MyDSL PBA Philippine Cup at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

John Wilson was perfect in six tries from beyond the arc and finished with a career-high 26 points coming off the bench, leading four others in twin digits as the Bolts won one after dropping their first two games.

Sunday Salvacion was another role player who contributed big, shooting 15 points built around four triples as he and Wilson scored 22 points in the breakaway second quarter.

And when the duo cooled off somewhat in the third, the others stepped up to drop 32 points in the period.

The Bolts had 70 points in the second and third periods, just nine short of what the Express came up with the entire game.

The loss was the third lopsided decision that the Express took as Air21—like in its first two games—seemed terribly out of synch.

“We needed this one badly to keep our confidence high,” Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio told reporters later. “We came so close to winning against Rain or Shine. Maybe it just wasn’t our time (to win) then.”

The first quarter ended with the Bolts holding a 16-15 lead before the Meralco defense held the Express to just 40 points in the middle two quarters.

Wilson, who won the NCAA MVP award while with Jose Rizal in 2009, joined a select group of players who made the most three-point shots in a game without a miss.

Glenn Capacio did it twice while with Purefoods, and Simon Atkins, Ritualo, Vic Pablo and Dondon Hontiveros of Alaska also pulled off the trick.

Meanwhile, Barangay Ginebra, looking as solid as any other pre-tournament favorite, shoots for a third straight win when it battles Globalport today at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.

The Gin Kings and the Batang Pier slug it out in the 8 p.m. contest just after Alaska and Talk ‘N Text try to rebound from stinging losses in the 5:45 p.m. contest.

The scores:

First Game

MERALCO 112—Wilson 26, Salvacion 15, Hugnatan 15, Dillinger 13, Al-Hussaini 11, Cortez 8, David 7, Caram 6, Guevarra 6, Omolon 4, Allado 1, Sena 0.

AIR21 79—Ritualo 12, Yeo 10, Menor 8, Sharma 8, Atkins 8, Manuel 8, Custodio 7, Taulava 6, Canaleta 3, Jaime 2, Burtscher 2, Arboleda 2, Camson 2, Espiritu 1.

Quarters: 16-15, 54-36, 86-55, 112-79