PBA: Trusty vet Allein Maliksi steps up for Meralco in Game 2

Meralco’s Allein Maliksi during Game 2 of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals against Ginebra.–PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines—Allein Maliksi turned in a silent but lethal performance to push Meralco past Ginebra in Game 2 of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals at Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday.

In danger of falling to a tough 0-2 predicament, the Bolts relied on one of their veterans to tie their best-of-seven series despite Christian Standhardinger’s 41-point effort for the Gin Kings.

Maliksi, who turns 37 years old in September, delivered a team-high 25 points, bouncing back after tallying 13 points on 5-0f-15 shooting from the field in a Game 1 loss last Friday.

“These guys are veterans. They’ve been through so many wars already so you have to take what they’re giving… Allein is crucial in what we do because other guys are being taken care of,” said Meralco coach Luigi Trillo.

“We know that’s our culture. Allein really played a good game.”

READ: PBA: Meralco fights back, beats Ginebra in semis Game 2

Known for his outside touch, Maliksi did damage inside the arc as he made the right adjustments against the kind of defense the Gin Kings gave him.

“Allein’s a great player. He’s a veteran player. He has championships under his belt and he knows his role really well,” said Meralco guard Chris Newsome, who was named Player of the Game after tallying 20 points, four rebounds and three assists.

“If he can hit shots then teams will be tighter on him. I think that was Ginebra’s adjustment, to be a little bit tighter on him and that opened things up for the rest of us.”

READ: PBA: Allein Maliksi shrugs off shooting slump to torch Ginebra

Maliksi missed all of his three attempts from downtown but Newsome knows his teammate is capable of catching fire anytime.

“Even if he was 0-for-3 [from deep], I still think he did his job. He was able to space the floor for us. He’s always a threat, he’s that type of player who can go 0-for-3 and then go on to make the next five. Shooters always shoot so we always have that confidence in Allein,” added Newsome.

The Bolts try to gain control of the series in Game 3 on Wednesday at Dasmariñas Arena in Cavite.