Meralco’s Aaron Black. –PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines–Playing a desperate enemy also looking to get out of a hole, Meralco displayed steely nerves when it mattered most on Wednesday, pulling out a 77-73 victory over Rain or Shine in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
Aaron Black hit a contested triple to cap a stellar team-best 20-point job and provide some breathing room in crunch time for Bolts, who improved to 4-3.
Allein Maliksi chipped in 19 points as Bong Quinto hit the late-game freebies that sealed Meralco’s return to the win column after losing two straight games.
Black goes baseline, succeeds!!! #PBAGameTayoDito pic.twitter.com/X33Wna6S50
— PBA (@pbaconnect) July 6, 2022
“It’s hard for us. We just had to help each other. The players chipped in. One game is good. But we still have three games, back-to-back-to-back,” said Luigi Trillo, who was standing in for head coach Norman Black who is tending to his ailing mother.
Gabe Norwood finished with 13 points while Mike Nieto and Beau Belga tossed in 12 and 11 in the losing effort that extended the Painters’ woes to a sixth-straight game.
Meralco will try to get a streak going once again, but it will have to go through a tough route as all three San Miguel teams await in a densely packed schedule beginning Jul 13.
Rain or Shine, now sporting a 1-6 record, hopes to stop its slide against NLEX this Saturday.
The Scores:
MERALCO 77 – Black 20, Maliksi 19, Hodge 13, Almazan 10, Newsome 7, Quinto 6,
Pascual 2, Baclao 0, Jose, Pasaol 0, Hugnatan 0, Caram 0, Belo 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 73 – Norwood 13, Nieto 12, Belga 11, Torres 8, Borboran 8, Caracut 7, Santillan 6, Nambatac 6, Demusis 2, Mamuyac 0, Clarito 0.