PBA: With KJ McDaniels now in tow, Meralco picks up tough win vs Bay Area

Meralco import KJ McDaniels. –PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines–Desperate to turn its fortunes around with its new weapon, Meralco scraped past Bay Area, 92-89, in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Friday afternoon.

The undermanned Bolts—now led by veteran PBA import KJ McDaniels—pulled out the necessary stops down the stretch to hack out only its second victory in seven outings in the midseason conference.

“This is a tough win for us—something we talked about. But everything is always possible, right? Even with all the adversity, we’re facing right now,” said head Norman Black.

“With KJ coming in we thought we had like a breath of fresh air and that he would give us a chance to win,” he added.

McDaniels finished with 31 points to lead all of Meralco. Raymond Almazan had 14 points and 16 rebounds, while Allein Maliksi, Chris Banchero, and Bong Quinto also finished in the scoring effort.

Bay Area got the goods from Andrew Nicholson, who accounted for over half of the team’s output with 50 points. Kobey Lam pumped in 23 more as the visitors suffered their second loss in the tournament, and drop to 6-2.

Meralco hopes to get a streak going against 3-5 Blackwater a week from now at Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

Bay Area, meanwhile, hopes to get back on track when it plays 3-4 Rain or Shine in the curtain raiser of that same playdate.