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With several new pieces added to the crew that finished second last season, coach Norman Black is not talking about – and has gotten the results contrary to – his Meralco Bolts needing to jell.
“We’re starting to blend well together, starting to become cohesive,” Black said after the Bolts bamboozled Alaska, 106-78, to move within another victory of clinching a twice-to-beat advantage in the first round of the PBA Governors’ Cup playoffs at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Rookie Mike Tolomia, added to the lineup less than a month ago, and Ranidel de Ocampo, the veteran superstar acquired from TNT KaTropa in a three-team deal who was playing his first game, were big as the Bolts broke loose in the second period and turned what was an anticipated close game into a ho-hum.
It was the seventh win in nine games for Meralco, while the loss was the first in the last four games for the Aces, who slumped to a 3-7 card and are in danger of missing the playoffs.
Meralco now effectively has a two-for-one chance of nailing a top four berth, as the Bolts close out opposite GlobalPort and then powerhouse San Miguel Beer.
“There are a lot of teams fighting for top four spots,” Black stressed. “And this is the time of the conference where you need to win games, otherwise, you won’t get it. And a top four berth has been our goal right from the start.”
Tolomia hit all five of his triple tries and finished with a career-high 24 points, while de Ocampo, six times a champion with the Texters, fit in so well with the new system that he scored 10 points in just 16 minutes.
Allen Durham scattered 26 points, had 18 rebounds, six assists and two blocks to lead the Bolts.