PBA: Meralco escapes Terrafirma to keep playoff bonus bid alive

Meralco Bolts’ Shonn Miller and his teammates in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines–Meralco pulled the rug from under Terrafirma on Friday night with a 109-102 victory in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Import Shon Miller delivered 29 points and 21 rebounds to star for the Bolts who kept alive their chances of snaring the fourth and last twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.

“We’re ready and excited about the playoffs. Simply proud of these guys the way they’ve come up through injuries and import changes,” said head coach Luigi Trillo.

Bong Quinto chipped in 20 points and nine assists off the bench, while four more locals finished with twin-digit scores in the effort that had Meralco ending its elimination round campaign with an 8-3 win-loss mark.

The Bolts will now await the result of the Ginebra-NLEX match to determine whether they will go into the knockout stage with the playoff edge. Otherwise, they’ll drop to No. 5, needing to win twice just to advance  into the next round.

Top rookie pick Stephen Holt led the way for Terrafirma with 26 points and five rebounds, while cornerstone Juami Tiongson chipped in 21 more in the losing effort, unable to wrap their bid on a positive note.

The Dyip ends their Commissioner’s Cup with a 2-9 win-loss record.

MERALCO-TERRAFIRMA SCORES

MERALCO 109 – Miller 29, Quinto 20, Maliksi 15, Newsome 11, Hodge 11, Banchero 10, Black 7, Almazan 4, Bates 2, Rios 0, Caram 0, Pascual 0.

TERRAFIRMA 102 – Holt 26, Tiongson 21, Gomez de Liano 15, De Thaey 7, Alolino 7, Sangalang 5, Calvo 5, Ramos 5, Go 3, Olivario 2, Cahilig 2, Mina 2, Camson 2, Miller 0.

Quarterscores: 30-31, 59-54, 85-87, 109-102