Emmet, Meralco zap lowly Blackwater

ANDRE Emmet scored 17 points and four others tossed in 10 or more in a balanced Meralco attack last night as the Bolts scored an 87-72 decision of Blackwater in the PBA Governors’ Cup eliminations at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Bolts came out of the halftime break with a lot more energy and easily erased a five-point deficit, winning with plenty to spare to rise to 3-3 overall while dealing the Elite a second straight loss in a 1-5 card for the cellar.

“It was a very good effort in the second half. We came out lackadaisical in the first half,” Meralco coach Norman Black said. “We lacked the energy and spunk and allowed Blackwater to jump all over us.”

Emmet scored seven of his total in the third and Gary David half of his 16 as the Bolts started burying the Elite.

The undersized Meralco crew also took 6-foot-10 Blackwater import Marcus Douthit out of his sweet spot, holding down the naturalized Gilas Pilipinas center to 15 points and eight boards.

Brian Heruela, the Elite’s starting point guard, was the only other player in twin digits for Blackwater with 12. Blackwater led by as many as 24-12 early but simply couldn’t hang on.

Meanwhile, Rico Maierhofer, the Barako Bull forward who became an instant internet celebrity for foiling San Miguel Beer counterpart Gabby Espinas’ shot with a shoe on Wednesday night, was fined P20,000 for his action by the Office of the Commissioner yesterday.

While fans inside the Big Dome got a laugh at what Maierhofer did, the league saw it otherwise and slapped him with the fine for “blatant misconduct that disrespects/mocks the game.”

Another struggling side, defending champion Star (formerly Purefoods), tries to snap a four-game losing streak today when the Hotshots clash with in-form KIA Motors in a Petron Saturday Special game slated at Angeles University Gym in Pampanga.

Game time is 5 p.m. with the Hotshots spiraling in the longest slide in the Tim Cone era.

The Carnival, meanwhile, will be shooting for the longest winning streak of their PBA existence—three games—and will be coming into the game fresh from a double overtime squeaker over fellow rookie team Blackwater.

The scores:

First Game

MERALCO 87—Emmett 17, David 16, Dillinger 12, Ando 12, Anthony 10, Nabong 8, Hodge 6, Atkins 2, Ildefonso 2, Ferriols 2, Cortez 0, Hugnatan 0, Guevarra 0.

BLACKWATER 72—Douthit 15, Heruela 12, Gamalinda 8, Laure 8, Erram 7, Acuna 6, Cervantes 5, Bulawan 4, Reyes 3, Salvacion 3, Golla 1, Timberlake 0.

Quarters: 12-22, 34-39, 63-56, 87-72