MERALCO’S Danny Ildefonso disputes the rebound with Jason Ballesteros of Blackwater during the fourth quarter of last night’s game. AUGUSTDELACRUZ
John Wilson scored all of his nine points in overtime to rescue Meralco from a mammoth foldup and hand the Bolts an 83-75 victory over the gritty Blackwater Elite last night in the PBA Philippine Cup eliminations at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
Meralco threw away control in the fourth period and was actually lucky to even play in overtime as referee Peter Balao missed giving the Elite a timeout that Jason Ballesteros had called after plucking a rebound in the waning seconds.
Instead, Sean Anthony tied Ballesteros up during the play to force a jump ball with 2.2 seconds left, denying the Elite—who forged overtime at 70-all after a Bam-Bam Gamalinda triple with 14.8 ticks left—a decent shot at winning it in regulation.
It was the second straight win for the Bolts, whose first also needed two extensions to finish a 112-108 decision of Barako Bull last Wednesday night.
“My players seem to like them,” Meralco coach Norman Black jokingly said. “As long as we come out as winners, I don’t mind it at all. It’s a win, and that’s all that really matters right now.”
Cliff Hodge played a career game with 26 points and 18 rebounds and had a lot of the intangibles like Sean Anthony to help the Bolts dodge the upset axe and pin a third straight defeat on the newcomer Elite.
Wilson struggled the whole game until he connected on a triple with 3:43 left in extra time, shoving the Bolts ahead to stay, 73-72. He had another triple with 2:32 to go that opened up a 78-72 lead and snuffed the fight out of the Elite.
Alex Nuyles and Ogie Menor scored 14 points apiece to pace the Elite, who got back into the game by holding the Bolts to just nine fourth-quarter points while getting 10 of Nuyles’ total in the period.
Meanwhile, Barangay Ginebra shoots for a third straight win and the temporary lead when the Gin Kings battle the NLEX Road Warriors at 7 p.m. today, also at the Big Dome.
Rain or Shine tries to climb above .500 for the first time when it slugs it out with newcomer KIA Motors in the 4:15 p.m. contest.
The scores:
First Game
MERALCO 83—Hodge 26, Guevarra 10, Wilson 9, Anthony 9, David 7, Ildefonso 6, Ferriols 6, Atkins 4, Cortez 2, Dillinger 2, Hugnatan 2, Morrison 0, Buenafe 0, Sena 0, Macapagal 0.
BLACKWATER 75—Nuyles 14, Menor 14, Faundo 10, Gamalinda 10, Artadi 6, Laure 6, Timberlake 5, Erram 4, Tiongson 2, Rodriguez 2, Ballesteros 2, Cawaling 0, Austria 0.
Quarters: 26-20, 44-32, 61-47, 70-70, 83-75