Purefoods downs NLEX; Meralco up

CLIFF Hodge of Meralco goes for a shot off June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel in yesterday’s match at Smart Araneta Coliseum. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

Marqus Blakely came up with a great all-around game for Purefoods last night and the Star Hotshots started defense of their PBA Governors’ Cup title on a solid note after an 89-85 decision of NLEX at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The import which coach Tim Cone once labeled as “Mr. Everything” did it all for the Hotshots, shooting 29 points that went with 18 rebounds, seven steals and five shotblocks that ultimately sent the Road Warriors to a second straight defeat.

Alex Mallari came off the bench to shoot 16 and help the Hotshots survive a stubborn stand by NLEX, which never gave up until the last second, hitting four straight triples that made the final margin close.

It was a Blakely dunk with 1.8 seconds to go that finally sealed the win for the Hotshots as NLEX went for the three-point shot in its last-gasp effort to turn things around.

“We should be getting better as we go along,” Purefoods coach Tim Cone whose wards are defending the last of three titles they won last season.

Kwame Alexander scored 25 markers and grabbed 26 boards to lead the Road Warriors, who suffered another bad break when Asian import Michael Madanly complained of recurring pain in his neck in the second period.

Madanly, who led the Fiba-Asia Championship in 2007 in scoring with 33 points a game for Syria, scored just eight points in 29 minutes after aggravating the injury sustained in a loss to Barako Bull last Wednesday.

Also dropping to 0-2 was powerhouse San Miguel Beer, which took a 106-95 overtime defeat at the hands of Meralco in the first game.