SUNDAY Salvacion was inserted into the game for the sole purpose of stifling Global Port’s Gary David.
The hot-shooting Meralco wingman did a whole lot more and earned the Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week.
Salvacion, plucked from the bench for the first time in the conference, delivered with 20 points on six of seven three-point shooting, his last triple—a banked-in buzzer-beater—lifting the Bolts from the jaws of defeat, 90-89, over the Batang Pier in Commissioner’s Cup on Sunday night.
“It’s always a blessing to have a warrior like Sunday,” said Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio, who gambled on the 10-year veteran to muffle David, Global Port’s tireless offensive machine.
“Buried deep and not part of our usual rotation, he exhibited tremendous determination and a positive attitude,” added Gregorio.
David still managed to finish with a game-high 27 points but was stymied by Salvacion in his last two attempts from mid-range when the Batang Pier were going for a final push.
Then, with the clock winding down, the 11th overall pick in the 2003 Draft let loose a miracle of a shot.
Salvacion received the leather from a bottled up Mac Cardona and launched the three that hit the glass before sailing in exactly as time lapsed.
Salvacion, a former NCAA MVP who also played for Barangay Ginebra, helped the Bolts (2-3) stop a three-game skid.