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Meralco erased a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Alaska, 92-87, and tie their best-of-five semifinals series at 1-1 in the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Wednesday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Jared Dillinger came through in the clutch, scoring eight of his 20 points in the final four minutes and 17 seconds, including back-to-back 3-pointers that gave the Bolts an 88-84 cushion with 1:43 remaining.
“I felt that was a great effort by our team in the second half. We really struggled in the first half,” said Meralco head coach Norman Black. “Just a great all-around effort by my players they showed a lot of ability tonight to come back and win.”
“I have to give credit to JD for really opening up our offense,” said Black.
Down nine near the midway mark of the final frame, Meralco went on an 12-2 run to take the lead for good, 82-81, on two free throws by Chris Newsome with 3:02 left.
Known for its defense, Alaska couldn’t make a stop down the stretch. Arinze Onuaku followed up a missed triple by Dillinger with the shot clock winding down to clinch the game, 90-85, with only 13.7 seconds left.
Onuaku led Meralco with 22 points and 14 rebounds on top of six assists while Newsome added 19 points and eight rebounds.
Rob Dozier had a game-high 28 points while Calvin Abueva posted 18 points, five rebounds and two steals for the Aces, who blew a 77-63 lead they built early in the fourth period.
Game 3 is on Friday also at the Big Dome.