BARAKO BULL’S WISE CHOICE
ERIC Wise may not have the impressive credentials Terrence Williams has, but on what may be their first and only duel here, the Barako Bull import clearly outshone his Meralco counterpart.
Wise capped a stellar debut by scoring the Energy’s last three points, lifting them to a 95-94 escape over Meralco Sunday in the kick-off game of the PLDT Home Telpad PBA Governors Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“He’s not the most flashy, he does not have the best credentials but he does just fine with us,” said Barako Bull head coach Siot Tanquingcen of Wise, whose father, Francois, played for five PBA teams from 1981 to 1987 and wound up sixth in scoring and seventh in rebounding among imports all-time.
More important, Wise capped his 33-point, 16-rebound performance with a hook shot and a charity inside the last 35 seconds of the game that enabled the Energy to fully overhaul a 75-86 fourth quarter deficit.
The performance, aided along by similar heroics from Willy Wilson and rookies Carlo Lastimosa and Jeric Fortuna, also gave Tanquingcen his first victory as Barako head coach after taking over from Bong Ramos less than a month ago.
Fortuna highlighted his 13-point game with a triple that tied the game up at 92 while Lastimosa sparked Barako Bull’s stretch run with six of his 10 points.
Despite the outcome, Tanquingcen knows there’s still a lot of work to be done, as evidenced by the way his Energy totally blew an early 21-point lead.
“I’m pretty sure, there’s gonna be downs. Nothing is a quick fix,” said Tanquingcen. “It’s good we started with a win, pero malayo pa ito. Our focus right now is taking care of the little things. Hopefully mag-build up and they will work better for us. But our continuing focus right now are the small details.”
Definitely, Meralco has a lot more to work on.
Cliff Hodge had 20 points and 11 rebounds and Terrence Williams 19 and 10, but the latter did not show the game that made him a certified NBA veteran and could be blamed for the setting the Bolts’ campaign off on the wrong foot.
The man who has seen action for the New Jersey Nets, Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings and Boston Celtics since being drafted at 11th overall in the 2009 NBA draft drained his fourth triple of the night to make it a 92-89 count, but launched an airball in Meralco’s next possession.
Wise then shredded Williams’ defense with a couple of spin moves for his baseline hook shot and then drew a foul off him in the last 1.3 seconds of the game that resulted in the final go-ahead charity.
The outcome was in stark contrast to the way Meralco fought back from a 25-46 deficit and seemingly assumed full control by outscoring Barako Bull 31-16 in the third period to take a 70-68 lead into the fourth frame.
“They got really hot — umulan ng three points,” noted Tanquingcen of the third quarter that saw the Bolts anchor their surge on a 6-for-12 shooting from beyond the arc. “. I just kept reminding the guys to challenge the shots, keep plugging along, don’t get frustrated.”
With Jared Dillinger, Sunday Salvacion and Williams continuing the onslaught the Bolts stretched their lead to 11, first at 79-68, before the Energy’s own perseverance started paying off. (NC)
The scores: (Click HERE for full boxscores)
BARAKO BULL 95 – Wise 33, Fortuna 13, Lastimosa 10, Wilson 10, Miranda 8, Jensen 7, Marcelo 6, Intal 3, Pennisi 3, Thiele 2, Deutchman 0.
MERALCO 94 – Hodge 20, Williams 19, David 19, Dillinger 8, Timberlake 6, Salvacion 6, Bringas 4, Hugnatan 4, Wilson 4, Ildefonso 2, Sena 2, Guevarra 0.
Quarterscores: 28-17, 52-39, 68-70, 95-94
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