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Barako Bull overcomes David’s 40 points, keeps Meralco winless
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Barako Bull guard RR Garica. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Barako Bull’s team veterans and newcomers are steadily getting their acts together.
Solid proof is the way the Energy showed more balanced efforts in the stretches that mattered most for a 108-106 victory over free falling Meralco Sunday in the 2015-2016 Smart Bro-PBA Philippine Cup at PhilSports Arena.
Josh Urbiztondo came off the bench to score a team-high 24 points while RR Garcia and Willy Wilson added 18 and 17 points, respectively, with the latter also coming up with a fine defensive stance in the dying seconds that foiled Meralco’s bid to at least equalize.
Even Emman Monfort, like Urbiztondo and Mac Baracael acquired from Ginebra before the season started, made significant contributions with 12 points, six assists and a crucial defensive rebound in the last 42 seconds.
It was the second win in four games for the Energy as they climbed from ninth spot to a share of sixth-running position with idle NLEX.
More important for Barako coach Koy Banal is the character showed by his team following a 91-105 overtime loss to GlobalPort last Sunday and after being severely threatened by Meralco.
“Our action determines our character,” said Banal. “In our two previous games our players showed character also but this time is bigger.”
Banal was admittedly on pins and needles when Wilson and Monfort missed four straight charities, enabling Gary David to throw the door wide open for Meralco by booming in his seventh triple of the game to move the Bolts within 106-108, still 32 ticks left.
Meralco then had the chance to at least knot the count when Garcia missed his drive, but partly made up for it by tapping the ball out of Chris Newsome’s hand and leaving the Bolts just 5.7 seconds to tie.
With David well covered by a switching defense, Hugnatan was forced to go hard to the basket against Wilson, only to lose his grip on the ball while attempting a semi-hook just before the final buzzer.
“After missing those four free throws and allowing them to sink that three-pointer of Gary the players stayed focused,” said Banal.
“The players really deserve this ballgame. Sa practices namin they’re really focused and wanted to win this game. I give them all the credit.”
Cohesion is something Meralco has no choice but to keep working on after it remained winless after four games.
David scattered a conference-high 40 points, but only Newsome and Hugnatan were the only other Bolts who managed to chip in double figures with 12 and 10, respectively.
Cliff Hodge, who averaged 13.3 points and 11 rebounds in Meralco’s first three games but injured his right wrist in a 91-105 loss to TNT last Wednesday had to be fielded starting at the 7:00 mark of the third period when coach Norman Black could draw little from his other frontliners.
Hodge wound up with four rebounds as the scoring load fell mostly on David, who ably tried and wound up with his personal high since scoring a career-best 42 during the 2011-12 season.
Fourteen of David’s points came in the fourth period, but Urbiztondo had the upper hand in that duel earlier in the quarter with 13 of his own, including a nifty short stab that made it a 106-97 count, before David strung up nine straight against a Wilson basket.
Meralco actually trailed earlier in the contest but came charging back behind Jimmy Alapag, Baser Amer and Hugnatan for an 82-77 lead, its biggest of the game.
Newsome’s jumper still had Meralco ahead 84-83, before Baracael, Urbiztondo and Monfort joined hands in a swirling 11-0 attack.
Before he got ushered into an elite circle, Mick Pennisi had some choice words to say to Kelly Nabong after the Meralco forward-center committed a flagrant foul on a driving JC Intal, seven minutes left in the second period.
Earlier, a near-straightaway triple in the opening period, Pennisi became only the seventh member of the 900-Three-Point Shot club.
Starters Wilson and Garcia got Barako off on the right foot, but Urbiztondo and Monfort were mainly responsible for pushing the Energy to several 11-point leads and eventually to a 56-52 at the half.
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