PBA: Meralco, Purefoods crush quarters foes

MERALCO’s Danny Ildefonso swats the ball away from Rico Villanueva of NLEX in last night’s game at Smart Araneta Coliseum. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

There’s one thing that Meralco has done consistently well in the quarterfinals of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup the last four years: Win Game 1.

With Mark Macapagal coming off the bench to shoot five triples and import Josh Davis controlling action underneath, the Bolts drew first blood against NLEX, 97-82, at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao Friday night to again earn two chances of going all the way.

After making just four points in seven games, Macapagal shot the daylights out of the NLEX defense and scored 22 with Davis winding up with 16 and 21 boards as the Bolts grabbed the momentum heading into tomorrow’s potential series-clinching Game 2.

Defending champion Purefoods used a hot start and destroyed Alaska in their series-opener, 120-86, in the nightcap.

The Star Hotshots scored the first six points of the game, closed out the opening frame with a 31-7 lead and led by 36 with seconds left for the swashbuckling triumph that coach Tim Cone feared would only motivate their foes harder for Game 2.

“We can’t be happy with this one,” Cone said. “We have to keep our focus because the bounce back ability is very high for them. They (Aces) will use this as motivation.”

The potential series-clinching games for the Bolts and the Hotshots are slated tomorrow also at the Big Dome.

“We picked Game 1 to play one of our best games,” coach Norman Black said as he put his Bolts in a position to end a three-year trend that saw Meralco win Games 1 over B-Meg, San Mig Coffee and Rain or Shine and fail to wrap up the series each time.

“It makes life a lot easier if we can make our outside shots,” Black said.

Meanwhile, top seeds Rain or Shine and Talk ‘N Text try to wrap up their quarterfinal matchups when they clash against separate foes in a Petron Saturday Special doubleheader at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.

The top-ranked Elasto Painters battle No. 8 Barangay Ginebra at 5:15 p.m., with Rain or Shine facing off with seventh-seeded Barako Bull in the 3 p.m. contest. Both higher-seeded teams own twice-to-beat edges.

The scores:

First Game

MERALCO 97—Macapagal 22, Davis 16, Anthony 14, David 13, Cortez 10, Hugnatan 10, Hodge 7, Reyes 2, Ildefonso 2, Wilson 1, Caram 0, Dillinger 0, Ferriols 0.

NLEX 82—Thornton 23, Cardona 17, Villanueva J. 13, Canaleta 8, Villanueva E. 6, Taulava 5, Ramos 4, Raymundo 2, Lingganay 2, Baloria 2, Borboran 0, Apinan 0, Arboleda H. 0.

Quarters: 34-19, 47-36, 69-61, 97-82

Second Game

PUREFOODS 120—Bowles 20, Yap 18, Barroca 14, Simon 13, Pingris 11, Devance 10, Pennisi 8, Maliksi 6, Melton 5, Reavis 5, Mallari 4, Gaco 4, Allado 2, Alvarez 0.

ALASKA 86—James 21, Jazul 12, Manuel 10, Banchero 9, Eman 8, Dela Rosa 6, Casio 6, Abueva 4, Baclao 4, Baguio 2, Exciminiano 2, Dela Cruz 2, Thoss 0, Hontiveros 0.

Quarters: 31-7, 54-29, 88-59, 120-86