DAVIS BUZZER-BEATER KEEPS MERALCO UNBEATEN
With their four-game win streak in danger, Meralco reinforcement Josh Davis saved the day, draining an awkward left-handed running jumper at the buzzer to lift the Bolts to an 86-84 thriller over GlobalPort in the 2015 PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Guarded by new Batang Pier import Calvin Warner with 3.2 seconds left to play, Davis got the ball at the free-throw line and drove to the right, rising to drain the game-winning basket at the buzzer to keep Meralco unscathed after five games.
“He told me during the timeout that, ‘Coach, if you want to run a play for me, I’ll make the shot.’ And that’s exactly what he did. He won the game for us,” said Meralco head coach Norman Black. “He practices that. He has a good hook shot, a good push shot on the basket as a floater.”
Davis poured in 21 of his 33 points in the second half, including 12 in the payoff period, as well as grabbing a league conference-high-tying 24 rebounds and five steals.
“He’s proving to be a very, very good import and a clutch player for us,” Black said.
Gary David also had 22 markers while Mike Cortez added 10 in the win.
Black commended his team’s efforts as they held on to their fifth straight win, which further extended the all-time best conference start in franchise history.
“It was really a tough game for us. We kept on switching their lineup to matchup against their guard line. Our defense held up in the end and Josh was the hero,” Black added.
Ronjay Buenafe drained a game-tying trey with 3.2 seconds left in the game to knot the score at 84, but Davis came up big off of a timeout to send the Batang Pier to its third loss in five games.
Warner, who played his first game for GlobalPort after replacing CJ Leslie, wounded up with a double-double of 24 points and 16 rebounds in the loss. He came out alive in the second half after only registering six points in the first 24 minutes of action, bringing back the Batang Pier to the game after falling behind early by as big as 11.
Terrence Romeo added 14 markers, while Jewel Ponferrada got 10 points and six boards. (RL)
The scores:
MERALCO 86 – Davis 33, David 22, Cortez 10, Wilson 8, Anthony 8, Reyes 3, Hugnatan 2, Atkins 0, Hodge 0, Ildefonso 0, Sena 0, Dillinger 0, Macapagal 0, Ferriols 0.
GLOBALPORT 84 – Warner 24, Romeo 14, Ponferrada 10, Miranda 9, Buenafe 9, Pringle 6, Semerad 6, Isip 6, Jensen 0.
Quarterscores: 20-15, 38-31, 59-58, 86-84.
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