Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Baser Amer stole the spotlight as Meralco ruined Christian Standhardinger’s keenly-awaited debut with a 93-85 win over San Miguel Beer in the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Wednesday night at Mall of Asia Arena.
Amer delivered down the stretch, scoring 13 of his game-high 28 points in the last six minutes to lift the Bolts to their third win in four outings.
“It’s always a big win when you beat San Miguel. We were hoping to catch them early, catch them when they’re still rusty,” said Meralco coach Norman Black.
All eyes were on Standhardinger, who was drafted No. 1 overall by the Beermen in October, and the fancied San Miguel making their debut coming off a historic fourth straight championship in the Philippine Cup last month.
But the Bolts stole their thunder behind Amer, who flourished in the crucial stages.
Meralco was down seven before it went on an 11-2 burst capped by three free throws by Amer with 4:29 remaining.
The former San Beda star then, scored five unanswered points to give the Bolts an 85-81 edge before sinking a pair of freebies to put the game away, 90-83, with 23.5 ticks left.
Amer went 8-of-13 from the field including 5-of-6 from downtown and also had eight rebounds and three assists while his backcourt partner Chris Newsome added 23 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.
Bolts import Arinze Onuaku posted a near triple-double with 13 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists while also collecting two steals and two blocks.
Beermen reinforcement Troy Gillen started like a house on fire but cooled off in the second half, where he only scored two points after tallying 17 in the first two quarters.
Standhardinger had a subpar outing, finishing with only four points, five rebounds and two steals in 20 minutes off the bench. June Mar Fajardo had a quiet night, scoring 16 points and grabbing seven rebounds.