PBA: Foul troubled Bishop grateful for Meralco locals for stepping up

Meralco import Tony Bishop Jr. PBA IMAGAES

MANILA, Philippines–Tony Bishop Jr. was slapped with his fifth foul halfway through the payoff period of Meralco’s 104-91 victory over Barangay Ginebra on Wednesday night.

With 6:38 left to play, the Bolts’ 18 point cushion at that juncture seemed in danger against a Gin Kings squad with a bevy of do-it-all stars, along with the indefatigable Justin Brownlee.

But Meralco’s locals kept it together the rest of the way, which delighted the Panamanian import.

“Everybody played great tonight. Raymond (Almazan), Allein Maliksi, you know (Chris) Newsome, Cliff (Hodge), (Aaron Black),” Bishop told reporters on the way out of the cavernous Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“Everybody came into the court and played great tonight. It was unfortunate to get that fifth foul, but I’m glad the guys stepped up tonight and we were able to get the win.”

Heroes abounded for the Bolts in the victory over the defending champions. Bishop was just as crucial, finishing with 20 points and 12 rebounds in what he sees as a return to form after a dip during the Magnolia semifinal series.

“I’m the same. I’m the same. You know. I’m going to keep being aggressive, I’m going to keep shooting, I’m going to keep attacking the basket. Some nights, as a basketball player, you’ll have off nights. Part of basketball,” he said.

“As long as you continue to be aggressive, continue to get your teammates involved, continue to try and win the basketball game, it’s gonna fall for you. Always be aggressive. That’s all that matters.”

It would be interesting to see how Bishop’s promises are going to pan out in Game 2 of this race-to-four series this Friday at Mall of Asia Arena. But Meralco’s reinforcement sounded like he and his teammates already have an idea of how to keep themselves from becoming whipping boys of a vengeful Ginebra side.

“Going into Game 2, we have to have the same aggressiveness, we have to make sure that we’re playing together, team basketball, make sure that we’re aggressive on the defensive end, getting stops, rebounding, and running the floor,” he said.