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Dillinger: As Onuaku draws defense, locals have to be ready to shoot
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Catch and shoot.
Meralco’s offensive game plan was that simple every time Alaska doubled or even triple-teamed import Arinze Onuaku got the ball on the low block.
The Aces’ defense collapses when the ball ends up in the hands of Onuaku and it was the Bolts swingman Jared Dillinger, who benefitted the most.
Dillinger was left open more often than not with Alaska opting to let Meralco’s locals beat them rather than Onuaku dominating inside the paint and the 32-year-old Fil-American let the Aces pay dearly for giving him good looks beyond-the-arc.
“We knew from the beginning it was gonna be a tough series. They’re double, triple-teaming Arinze and it’s going to come down to us hitting shots,” said Dillinger, who helped the Bolts complete their fourth-quarter comeback over the Aces in Game 2 of their semifinals series.
“Arinze, he really stepped up today. He was a lot more aggressive, he really read the defense well and he made it a lot simpler for all of us.”
It was like target practice for Dillinger, who went 5-of-10 from three to finish with 20 points in 27 minutes off the bench.
“Obviously, Onuaku had a better game, but the guys that really jumped out for me are obviously, Jared and Newsome. That second half, they made plays,” said Alaska head coach Alex Compton.
“I think Jimmy’s been shaking hands with Jared’s left hand a lot so he’s getting some of that late-game heroics from Jimmy. I wish Jimmy didn’t do that.”
Dillinger also gave special mention to his longtime teammate Jimmy Alapag, whose only field goal was a clutch 3-pointer part of Meralco’s 22-8 run in the final 6:13 of the game that wiped out Alaska’s 14-point fourth-quarter lead.
“Having a guy like Jimmy out there, we all know what Jimmy has accomplished. Jimmy can go for 0-for-10 and when he’s out there, his presence alone just helps out team,” praised Dillinger, who was also teammates with Alapag back when they were still both with TNT where they won five titles together.
The 38-year-old Alapag returned the favor, emphasizing how crucial Dillinger’s outside shooting was in changing the complexion of the series heading into a pivotal Game 3 on Friday night.
“It’s huge. But JD has been here before. We spend a lot of time together at Talk ‘N Text. He enjoys this time of the year and he just really came through and hit big shots for us to keep us alive in this series.”
As for Game 3, Dillinger said his team should just stick to its game plan as long as its working.
“We just gotta be ready to shoot. We can’t get too hesitant out there because Arinze’s drawing so much of the defense. We don’t have to shoot a three every time, we gotta mix it up a little bit but just know that when they start doubling Arinze, we gotta be ready to shoot,” he said.
“We’re just glad it’s a best-of-three. We’re trying to win three in a row.”
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