WEST TOWS MERALCO PAST SMB IN CDO
Mario West dished out his best performance in the PLDT Home Telpad PBA Governors’ Cup, taking over in the second half as the Meralco Bolts came out with an electrifying performance, downing San Miguel Beer, 90-74, in front of a packed crowd inside the Xavier Universty gym.
The NBA veteran, who is in his third tour of duty with Meralco, finished with 42 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and three steals.
With West anchoring the Bolts’ entertaining brand of run and gun game, Meralco was able to pull away from a tight first half.
West started the breakaway in the third period with a triple to give the Bolts their first sizeable lead, 61-47. His strong move to the basket with only 1:47 in regulation that gave the Bolts an 88-72 lead sealed the outcome for Meralco, which took advantage on the undermanned San Miguel team.
The Beermen again played without key players Marcio Lassiter (shin injury), Chris Ross and Paolo Hubalde.
It was only the second win in seven games for the struggling Bolts, who kept their flickering hopes alive for a playoff berth in this short single-round eliminations.
Despite its disturbing win-loss record, Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio remains upbeat something positive will happen in the remaining games following this out-of-town win that he even borrowed a phrase from a Hollywood film.
“It’s just survival instincts. It’s all we’re fighting for at this point. We will not retreat, we will not surrender. I think this win averted an outright elimination for us. We just gotta keep on fighting,” said Gregorio. (RJ)
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