Dillinger, Meralco deal Ginebra its first loss for 2nd win in a row

Jared Dillinger of Meralco (dark) vs Mark Caguioa of Ginebra (light). PBA IMAGE by Nuki Sabio

MANILA, Philippines—A step quicker, Meralco outpaced Barangay Ginebra San Miguel for a convincing 100-87 win in the 2014 PLDT MyDSL Philippine Cup Tuesday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Forward Jared Dillinger scored 13 of his game-high 25 points in the third quarter, where the Bolts shifted to higher gear and just left the erstwhile undefeated Kings behind.

“We’re fortunate that we got them on an off night. They weren’t scoring the way they scored the past three games and I thought it’s due to the highly emotional game they played against [GlobalPort]. Probably it zapped a lot of energy from them,” said Meralco head coach Ryan Gregorio, after the Bolts picked up their second straight win after starting the conference at 0-2.

“For us were just happy to be at 500 with a lot of players down and [Reynel Hugnatan] going down, we huddled the players and told them for as long as the game is played five-on-five, they don’t have an edge.”

Meralco, which lost veteran big man Reynel Hugnatan to injury early, limited the usually high-scoring Ginebra squad to just 10 points in the second period and sustained its solid play on both ends in the second half.

Japeth Aguilar led the Kings, who dropped to 3-1, with 23 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks.
“We’re just a quicker team than them. I think that’s the best antidote as proven with tonight’s game that If you want to win against a taller and longer team you have to use whatever it takes for you to be quicker.”

Mike Cortez added 21 points and 11 assists while Rabeh Al-Hussaini had 14 points and 16 rebounds. Sharp-shooting John Wilson also shone with 14 markers including two huge treys in the third quarter as Meralco maintained its imposing lead.