PBA: David carries Meralco past Star for first win in six tries

Chalk one in the win column.

Leaning on the heroics of Gary David, Meralco finally scored its first win in the 2016 Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup, repulsing Star, 87-83, on Saturday at Cuneta Astrodome.

The Bataan gunslinger was the lone Bolt to score in the final eight minutes, accounting for Meralco’s last 11 points to take an 83-76 edge going to the final 5:02.

James Yap and Ian Sangalang tried to stage one last fightback for Star and closed the gap to four, 87-83 with 43.8 remaining, but the Hotshots could no longer buy a bucket in the end as the Bolts clamped down on defense and escaped with the win.

“I’m happy my players really focused on their defense tonight. They came in and gave the effort defensively,” said Meralco coach Norman Black. “I thought we limited our mistakes on the defensive end, something we have not done so far this conference. Our major problem this year is sometimes, our defense breaks down. Today, they had the energy, the focus, and the drive to get the first victory. Hopefully, this will lead to more victories in the future.”

David finished with 26 points on a 12-of-25 shooting from the field, that went with four rebounds to help the Bolts improve to 1-5.

“He has given us a lot of stability,” Black said of David. “At this point of the season and looking at how my team is performing, we need his points every minute of the game. He’ll miss shots, he’ll make shots, but I want him to stay aggressive.”

Rabeh Al-Hussaini provided the support with 12 markers, three boards, and three blocks while Reynel Hugnatan got a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Yap captained the Hotshots with 26 points and six rebounds even as Marc Pingris ended up with 13 markers and four boards.

The Scores:

MERALCO 87 – David 26, Al-Hussaini 12, Hugnatan 10, Nabong 9, Newsome 8, Dillinger 6, Hodge 6, Atkins 5, Faundo 5, Amer 0.
STAR 83 – Yap 26, Pingris 13, Sangalang 9, Taha 9, Mallari 8, Simon 8, Barroca 3, Maliksi 3, Melton 2, J. Pascual 2, R. Pascual 0, Torres 0.

Quarters: 21-24, 43-44, 69-69, 87-83.