DISMISSED as goners not too long ago, Meralco last night played with the heart and character of a seasoned team to hammer out a 102-98 victory over Powerade at the Cuneta Astrodome for the final playoff slot in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Earl Barron and Mac Cardona each scored 18 second half points to fuel a firm stand by the B-Boys, who withstood several searing rallies by the Tigers as the young franchise advanced past the eliminations of an import-spiced tournament for the first time in two years.
“I am so happy to be a part of something like this,” coach Ryan Gregorio, who minced no words in pointing out to several articles that dismissed his team after a 1-4 start, told reporters.
“At 1-4, we could have packed our bags and gone home, we had so many excuses to give up,” said Gregorio, whose wards will play the loser of the Barangay Ginebra-B-Meg KO match that was being played at at press time.
Barron hit two free throws with 7.8 seconds left which eventually eliminated Powerade, a side that, in exact contrast to Meralco, looked like a sure bet to advance before dropping its last two games in the eliminations to fall in a KO match with the B-Boys.
The game was a shootout, to say the least, and the Tigers were able to stay within striking distance even if top gun Gary David was given a very hard time by the Meralco defense all night.
“Mission No. 1 for us was to extinguish the fiery hands of Gary David,” Gregorio said with much pride. “All his shots were contested. Defense is the thing that is keeping us afloat right now.”
Crucial errors
David still came away with 20 points, sharing team-high honors with import Dwayne Jones and Marcio Lassiter. But he was contested all game, as he had two crucial turnovers with under four minutes left after Meralco had gone up, 93-88.
Meralco actually led by as many as 13 points in the third period, 65-52 after a Chris Ross triple with 5:21 left.
And like the B-Boys, the Tigers also refused to die easy, doggedly coming back and creeping within manageable proportions. Powerade even came within 98-100 with 12.2 seconds left after a Lassiter triple only for Barron to wrap it up on the other end with those two freebies.
Lassiter also hit a triple that beat the 24-second shot clock with four minutes remaining that made it 90-88, only for Cardona to get that back just as quick after being left wide open from left quarter court.
After that came those two David errors, the first when he lost the ball on the drive and the second when Ross smothered his layup attempt on a fastbreak play which led to a Ross basket that made it 95-88 with 1:57 left.
The scores:
First Game
MERALCO 102—Barron 33, Cardona 24, Taulava 16, Ross 12, Mercado 9, Hugnatan 4, Borboran 2, Macapagal 2, Timberlake 0.
POWERADE 98—Jones 20, Lassiter 20, David 20, Casio 14, Anthony 13, Kramer 5, Lingganay 4, Calimag 2, Vanlandingham 0, Allera 0, Cruz 0.
Quarters: 23-16, 45-43, 75-66, 102-98