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Eric Dawson maintains he can’t abandon his teammates even when he’s in pain, and Meralco can make history with just one more push in its best-of-three showdown with San Mig Coffee in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals.
Meralco has never landed in the Final Four since taking over the Sta. Lucia Realty franchise in 2010. The Bolts try to achieve the milestone in going for the clincher in Game Two at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“I thought we did a good job defending in the last three quarters (Friday). We limited their options on offense and forced them to bleed for their points. The same tenacity is required if we are to advance to the next phase,” said Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio.
The youthful Meralco mentor said the key is for them to continue to battle.
“Denzel Bowles gives us all kinds of problems. We prepared for him and yet he still scored 37. We know his strengths and yet he still managed to score. We just have to fight through,” said Gregorio.
With Dawson now a marked man, local support is important.
“The locals must be consistent. We were successful in Game One. We just have to be ready and accurate on our shots,” Gregorio said.
For the Mixers, it is plain and simple that they need to do a better job.
“Not much to say. We need a win, period. Hopefully the extra day will help us get James (Yap) a little more healthy and ready to go so he can play more minutes, but the bottom line is we, as a team, need to play with a better, more focused effort,” said San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone.
Dawson, supposedly aching with an injured knee, played his usual game and inflicted San Mig Coffee much pain as the Bolts outfought the Mixers, 88-85, in series opener.
The prolific import, who hurt his left knee versus Rain or Shine just two nights ago, defied logic as he came through with 25 points and 18 rebounds and delivered the biggest plays at the finish.
“I don’t know what he’s made of. He’s not limping at all. There’s swelling in his leg but you can’t see it in him. He’s a great inspiration to us. We’re climbing on his back and we’re riding the wave, him leading us,” said Gregorio.
“I just fight to win. I tell myself I have to be aggressive,” said Dawson.
The former San Antonio Spur scored all but two of their last 11 points and grabbed the important rebounds at winning time as Meralco closed in on the semis.
“Amazing, but it’s no reason to celebrate,” said Gregorio, recalling their sad experience in the same conference last year when they bungled a 1-0 lead against the same opponent.
“We want to be more intelligent Sunday. We know better now. We’ll not celebrate as there’s still a task to achieve,” Gregorio also said. (SB)
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