MERALCO ‘BOLTS’ IN

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A LITTLE help for Brian Butch could go a long way, especially at this point for Meralco.

And the likes of Reynel Hugnatan, Gary David and Cliff Hodge were more than happy to oblige, resulting in the Bolts’ 85-76 victory over Alaska Wednesday in the PLDT myDSL PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Butch notched game-highs of 27 points, anchored on six triples, and 17 rebounds, but the all-around support he got from his local teammates proved indispensable in Meralco’s 76-94 loss to San Miguel Beer at the start of their conference campaign last Friday.

Hugnatan did not just score 14 points, he also anchored the defense on Alaska import Rob Dozier, limiting the latter to just 17 points on 7-for-13 field shooting.

JVee Casio, Cyrus Baguio and Sonny Thoss also finished in double figures, but the Aces were steadily outplayed and outgunned in the last 16 minutes of play which prevented them from following up a 93-77 win over GlobalPort last Saturday.

After dropping the defending champion to a 1-2 record, Meralco head coach Ryan Gregorio said it was all because his players faced up to his challenge of making stops to make up for the absence of guards Mike Cortez (knee) and Jared Dillinger (fever).

“We did a good job competing today despite our obvious lack of players. We were able to do the job because of defense,” said Gregorio.

“This win is a very welcome development for us. We were able to find ways against a powerhouse team like Alaska. It was really defense that spelled the biggest difference for us,” he added.

Indeed, Alaska was harassed into shooting just 26-for-74 from the field and committing 14 turnovers from which Meralco netted 17 of its points.

Rookie Anjo Caram and newly-reactivated AJ Mandani also did their share in alternately manning the point, combining for 12 points, six assists and five rebounds while throwing in some hustle plays.

Caram also drained a corner triple of his own – the first of his PBA career — at the height of the Bolts’ critical 6-0 surge that gave them the game’s biggest difference at 84-72, only 2:03 remaining.

“The reminder pretty much was, you will not really get a lot of minutes when our usual point guards are there,” related Gregorio of the former San Beda standout tabbed at No. 26 overall in last year’s draft.

“But in the absence of Mike and Jared he played well, setting the plays.”

David and Hodge each wound up with 12 points with Hodge adding eight rebounds and David dishing off four dimes.

While his local teammates were chipping in, Butch methodically did his part with his fifth triple of the game sparking Meralco’s break from a 50-46 count.

Butch, who went 0-of-6 from three-point range in the loss to the Beermen, actually stayed true to his workmanlike job despite getting hard hits from the likes of Espinas, Calvin Abueva, Dozier, new Ace Vic Manuel and Thoss.

“I told him to keep his composure, keep his emotions in check and just play basketball,” said Gregorio.

In contrast, Dozier committed a flagrant foul-1 on Hugnatan early in the third period.

Casio, who wound up with a team-high 19 points, and Thoss valiantly tried to spark an Alaska uprising, but the most the team could do was threaten last at 67-73. (NC)

The scores:

MERALCO 85 – Butch 27, Hugnatan 14, David 12, Hodge 12, Caram 7, Mandani 5, Ildefonso 4, Guevarra 2, Wilson 2, Al-Hussaini 0.

ALASKA 76 – Casio 19, Dozier 17, Baguio 12, Thoss 10, Manuel 6, Jazul 4, Espinas 3, Reyes 2, Abueva 2, Dela Cruz 1, Hontiveros 0.

Quarterscores: 20-12, 37-33, 61-54, 85-76

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