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BOCAUE — Undermanned and all, Meralco leaned on an unlikely hero in Jason Ballesteros to come away with a 84-82 squeaker over Barangay Ginebra and stay in playoff contention in the 2018 PBA Philippine Cup Sunday at Philippine Arena here.
“Wow,” exclaimed Meralco coach Norman Black after his team created a three-way logjam at ninth with TNT and Blackwater at 4-6. “It’s just great effort from the guys just knowing the circumstances that had we lost today, we’re out of the tournament. The guys just came out there and played to get the win.”
Ballesteros faced the Gin King giants and made a good account of himself, hauling down a career-best 17 rebounds while also scoring the final three points for the Bolts in the final minute.
The unheralded big man secured the offensive rebound after misses by Reynel Hugnatan and Chris Newsome before banking the go-ahead bucket, 83-82, with 36.2 seconds left.
Scottie Thompson missed a floater on the other end, before Ballesteros once again grabbed another board before splitting his foul shots with 17.3 seconds to go.
The Gin Kings muffed another opportunity after Japeth Aguilar misfired on his potential game-tying triple as the Bolts escaped with the win.
“It’s just a huge win for us and gave us another chance going to our last game against Magnolia,” said Black, who now shifts his focus on the Bolts’ last outing versus the Magnolia Hotshots in Cagayan de Oro. “It’s nice to be alive. We look forward to Saturday.”
Garvo Lanete shot 3-of-8 from three to top Meralco in scoring with 19 markers while Anjo Caram had a career-best 16 points. Hugnatan and Newsome both wound up with 12.
Aguilar paced Ginebra with 20 points, seven rebounds, and three assists, while Thompson flirted with a triple-double with 17 markers, 13 boards, and five assists.
The Gin Kings fell to an even 5-5 record after they squandered a 77-69 lead midway in the payoff period. Meralco staged a 12-3 run to grab an 81-80 lead at the 1:17 mark.
The scores:
MERALCO 84 — Lanete 19, Caram 16, Hugnatan 12, Newsome 12, Ballesteros 7, Salva 5, Amer 4, Bono 4, Canaleta 3, Faundo 2, Sedurifa 0, Tolomia 0.
GINEBRA 82 — J. Aguilar 20, Thompson 17, Slaughter 12, Mercado 10, Caguioa 6, Cruz 5, Tenorio 5, Devance 4, Mariano 3, Ferrer 0, Manuel 0.
Quarters: 15-20, 45-38, 67-64, 84-82.