Isip came off the bench and practically carried the B-Boys in the rough stretches, scoring 10 of his total in the final period as Meralco, which played without its leading local scorer and best point guard, extended the Boosters’ woes dating back to last conference when it played as San Miguel.
Import Champ Oguchi dropped 25, 15 of them coming from beyond three-point zone, and Sol Mercado had 23 markers, six rebounds and seven assists as the B-Boys led from start to finish to join idle opening day winner Rain or Shine at the helm.
“We were definitely undermanned (for the game),” Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio told reporters shortly after. “But inasmuch as we are losing players due to injury, the game is still 5 on 5 and I told my players that we’re not at a disadvantage in that.”
Ren-Ren Ritualo, the former shooting star with Air21, was the fourth player in twin digits for the B-Boys, who out-rebounded the Boosters, 51-49, despite being the much smaller side.
Jay Washington and Alex Cabagnot each fired 18 to pace the Boosters, who are coming off a forgettable Commissioner’s Cup.
Petron, despite its high-profile, expensive lineup, trailed by 21 several times, the last at 88-67 early in the fourth period after one of Isip’s baskets early in the fourth period.
It also did not help that Ricky Harris, the Boosters’ second choice for an import, struggled with only eight points in 26 minutes after hitting just 1-of-9 from three-point range, and 2-of-6 from two-point zone.
Washington and Cabagnot rallied the Boosters to within four from there, only to be scuttled in the endgame by precise Meralco shooting from the foul line, the last two coming from Isip with 29.9 seconds left that made it 104-98.
Isip, who blossomed into a formidable forward while with the disbanded Barako Bull earlier in the season, missed tying his career-best by just one point.
Rabeh Al-Hussaini, the leading Rookie of the Year candidate, finished with 16 points and seven rebounds for the Boosters, who also got 12 points and the same number of boards from Arwind Santos.
The scores:
MERALCO 105—Isip 28, Oguchi 26, Mercado 23, Ritualo 11, Hugnatan 6, Aljamal 3, Espinas 3, Taulava 3, Weinstein 2, Omolon 0.
PETRON 100—Washington 18, Cabagnot 18, Al-Hussaini 16, Santos 12, Yeo 11, Harris 8, Pennisi 6, Duncil 4, Hubalde 4, Salvacion 3, Baclao 0, Guevarra 0.
Quarters: 27-18, 51-42, 84-63, 105-100