Bolts stay in playoff race, hope for best in Aaron Black injury

Meralco Bolts’ Raymond Almazan in the PBA Philippine Cup. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

Meralco kept the inside track in making the quarterfinals of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup by holding Magnolia to a franchise-low for points Sunday at PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

But the Bolts’ 74-51 triumph that put them at 5-5 with a game to play in the eliminations may have come at a hefty price.

“We’re praying for AB,” coach Luigi Trillo said, referring to Aaron Black, who went down with a left knee injury in the second half.

What’s more concerning was that Black “heard something pop,” according to Trillo, which could leave Meralco without one of its key players going into the final game of the eliminations against San Miguel Beer on Saturday in Batangas City.

READ: PBA: Clinging for dear life, Meralco Bolts hope Newsome shakes off injury bug

Black’s injury came two days after Chris Newsome got his left leg entangled with Javee Mocon during the final seconds of Meralco’s win over Phoenix at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Newsome, however, suited up with a brace and came up with 12 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two blocks in 36 minutes.

“With New, he knew that it was the muscle. But with Aaron, it’s one side of his knee, so we have to wait for the MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) results,” said Trillo.

Very tight race

In defeating Magnolia, the race for the six remaining quarterfinal spots became even more complicated with seven teams, at presstime, having five wins.

That includes NLEX, which lost 120-103 to unbeaten San Miguel Beer in the nightcap, and the fallen Magnolia side. Both teams are now tied with TNT at 5-4.

Also in that group are Rain or Shine and Terrafirma with similar records as Meralco, and NorthPort, which already completed its elimination round campaign at 5-6.

READ: PBA: Last conference’s heartbreak fuels Aaron Black, Meralco Bolts

A major factor in the Bolts’ win was the play of Raymond Almazan, who had 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Almazan finally was able to atone himself from being suspended one game by the PBA for being involved in an off-court incident where he was apprehended by a traffic enforcer for using the prohibited Edsa bus lane.

The incident also went viral after Almazan was accused of trying to bribe the apprehending officer. Almazan had already apologized during a meeting with Department of Transportation officials.

His absence came when Meralco suffered a shock 104-99 loss to previously-winless Converge the previous Sunday.“I was really focused on this game and put all distractions aside because I want to help the team make the quarterfinals,” said Almazan.