STRONG SECOND HALF POWERS MERALCO PAST BLACKWATER
It was an endgame blitz which allowed Meralco to even its win-loss record at 3-3, taking down Blackwater with an 87-72 victory Friday PBA Governor’s Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The Bolts, who have alternated wins and losses so far in the conference, bucked a “lackadaisical first half” and came alive late, with Andre Emmett, Gary David, and Seiya Ando all hitting their strides in the last two quarters.
“It was a very good effort from us in the second half. The first half, we lacked energy, spunk. We allowed Blackwater to jump on us,” said Meralco head coach Norman Black.
Down by as much bas 12-24 in the first half, Meralco outscored the Elite, 53-33, in the second, turning the tides and taking leads of as much as 16, 83-67, late in the game.
Averaging 37.0 points in the conference prior to the game, Emmett was not his usual scoring self Friday night, but he still led the Bolts with 17 points which he added with a game-high 12 rebounds.
In contrast, after averaging just 8.6 points in Meralco’s first five games, David rebounded from his struggles as he finished with 16 points while Ando had 12, eight coming in the payoff period.
Jared Dillinger also showed signs of returning to his old form by wounding up with 12 of his own, while Sean Anthony got 10 in a balanced scoring night for Meralco.
Marcus Douthit led Blackwater with 15 points and eight rebounds, as the Elite fell to its fifth defeat in six games. (RL)
The scores:
MERALCO 87 – Emmett 17, David 16, Dillinger 12, Ando 12, Anthony 10, Nabong 8, Hodge 6, Atkins 2, Ildefonso 2, Ferriols 2, Cortez 0, Hugnatan 0, Guevarra 0.
BLACKWATER 72 – Douthit 15, Heruela 12, Gamalinda 8, Laure 8, Erram 7, Acuna 6, Cervantes 5, Bulawan 4, Reyes 3, Salvacion 3, Golla 1, Timberlake 0.
Quarterscores: 12-22, 34-39, 63-56, 87-72.
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
