MANILA, Philippines—Delroy James’ first PBA win couldn’t have come in a more opportune time.
His first two games in the Commissioner’s Cup both ended in losses but James made sure his third had a different ending, taking over down the stretch to lift Meralco to a 95-91 win over streaking San Miguel Wednesday night.
Not only did it finally give James his first victory, it also preserved the Bolts’ hopes for a spot in the quarterfinals as they are now scheduled for an eighth seed playoff with Alaska on Friday.
“It’s my first win and last game was tough because it felt like a win but we lost and I felt that our team really played well,” said James. “It’s good to take this win and we will continue playing in the conference and try to get another one on Friday.”
READ: PBA: Meralco stays alive after creaming San Miguel
“We just to take one game at a time and not look too far ahead.”
James finished with 34 points, five rebounds, six assists, four steals, and two blocks against the Beermen and new star import Chris McCullough, but his brightest moments came in the final three minutes with the Bolts needing every ounce of magic from him.
With the scores knotted up at 89-all, James drove the basket to give Meralco a 91-89 lead with 2:52 left but that lead lasted just 26 seconds with June Mar Fajardo tying the game at 91-all with a layup.
James then took matters into his own hands, even waving off a play head coach Norman Black was about to draw.
“I felt like at that moment there was no need [to draw up a play] because I was in a good groove to try and make something happen for my team,” said James of his actions during Black’s timeout with 2:17 left to play.
James, who went full isolation mode, scored on another drive that gave the Bolts the 93-91 lead with 1:03 remaining.
The 6-foot-8 forward then stripped the ball away from McCullough and chalked up the game’s final two points with yet another driving layup in the last 32.3 seconds.