Arinze Onuaku reminded everyone why he was the Best Import two years ago as he led Meralco’s strong start in the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup strong, beating Columbian, 116-103, Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Onuaku had an all-around and efficient outing with 30 points on 14-of-15 shooting from the field, 19 rebounds, six assists, three steals and four blocks in 43 minutes of action.
The bull-strong import had a dominating performance despite coming straight from the nearby Cardinal Santos Medical Center due to a bum stomach.
“First, I’d like to tip my hat off to Arinze. He’s been sick the last few days. He hasn’t practiced with us and he came from the hospital,” said Meralco head coach Norman Black.
“I would like to tip my hat off to him for playing really, really well. He gives us exactly what we need, rebounds and post-play.”
But it wasn’t just Onuaku who had a big game for the Bolts.
Chris Newsome added 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists while Niño Canaleta and Nico Salva combined for 15 points off the bench.
Jared Dillinger chipped in 11 points, including the dagger triple from the left corner that put Meralco ahead, 108-96, with 1:41 remaining.
“I believe that our locals, the other guys also played well. KG (Canaleta), JD (Dillinger), and the other guys,” Black said. “Great effort, great start for us coming off the All-Filipino. Hopefully, we could sustain it the rest of the conference.”
CJ Aiken played much better offensively with 21 points that went with 18 rebounds after scoring only nine in his PBA debut in Columbian’s win over Blackwater, but the Dyip obviously need more than just that if he wants to keep his job.
Jerramy King, who erupted for a career-high 30 points three days ago, only had 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field.
