DAWSON’S 57 ALMOST SINGLEHANDEDLY POWERS MERALCO PAST PETRON
ERIC Dawson came up with a game rarely seen and Meralco got away with a win it so badly needed.
Dawson torched the hoops for a career-high 57 points and the Bolts notched a 102-92 victory over Petron Blaze Friday that gave them a share of third-running spot in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Dawson scored at least 10 points in each quarter to spark and fuel the Bolts’ inexorable run past the Boosters and their new import and into their sixth win in 11 games that tied them with their victim and idle Barangay Ginebra.
“It was a fantastic game. I was also amazed,” said Meralco head coach Ryan Gregorio of Dawson, who also wound up with 14 rebounds, four steals and three blocks.
“I haven’t seen something like it for a long long time, especially with the advent of scouting reports detailing each player’s strengths and weaknesses,” added Gregorio.
Zach Graham made 51 for Air21 in last season’s Governors Cup but Dawson’s output was the highest since Derek Brown had the same 57-point night for Sta. Lucia Realty in a 120-99 loss to San Miguel Beer on April 25, 2004 in the inaugural Fiesta Conference.
“Petron did their job defensively, but Eric was simply on fire. To make an understatement, it was good game. He brought us on his shoulders and towed us to victory,” noted Gregorio.
“I’m always inspired,” said Dawson, who said his previous career-high was the 41 he notched while with the Austin Toros in the 2008 NBDL season.
“We have a great coaching staff, who worked with me night in and night out,” he added. “We knew we had to go out, make every basket count, try to win and that’s what we did tonight.”
The victory should also serve Meralco in good stead in its drive to a high standing in the ensuing quarterfinals since the Bolts wind up the 14-game eliminations against streaking Barangay Ginebra, defending champion San Mig Coffee and powerhouse Rain or Shine.
The loss was the third straight for Petron, notwithstanding the 23-point, 16-rebound debut of Henry Sims.
Marcio Lassiter added 15 points and Arwind Santos 10, but the entire Boosters team utterly failed in stopping Dawson from scoring through an array of jumpers and drives.
In the end, Dawson more than doubled his pre-game, league conference-best average 26.8 points by making 20 of 34 attempts from the field and missing just five of 22 free throw tries.
Gregorio said it didn’t hurt that all his players followed their gameplan to the letter. “I told them to go out thinking like Davids because we’re facing Goliaths,” he related.
“They have a distinct advantage in the height department. So I reminded our players to rely on their quickness. We have to run them to the ground, score on fastbreaks. It was a good game-plan and we were rewarded with a huge victory.”
It was a game that had 11 deadlocks and 18 lead changes and the outcome only became clear in the fourth quarter.
With Reynel Hugnatan helping Dawson along by chipping in eight of his 13 points, Meralco was able to come out on top of a massive 21-12 exchange to post the game’s biggest difference at 96-82, 2:52 left.
The loss also spoiled the return of Chris Lutz for the Boosters, who missed nine games due to a fractured rib. He came off the bench to score six points, including a three-point play that helped make it 20-14, a lead Petron would stretch to 30-22 early in the second. (NC)
The scores:
MERALCO 102 – Dawson 57, Cardona 13, Hugnatan 13, Salvacion 8, Timberlake 4, Vanlandingham 3, Hodge 2, Reyes 2, Ross 0, Buenafe 0.
PETRON 92 – Sims 23, Lassiter 15, Santos 10, Cabagnot 9, Fajardo 8, Washington 8, Lutz 6, Miranda 6, Pena 5, Lanete 2.
Quarterscores: 22-28, 46-47, 75-70, 102-92
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