Star dismantles Meralco by 47 points to move closer to no. 2
ANTIPOLO — Merciless from the get-go, Star handed Meralco its worst loss in franchise history with a 120-73 whipping and bolstered its bid for the last twice-to-beat bonus in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup Saturday at Ynares Sports Center here.
Allein Maliksi led the Hotshots with 25 points built on five 3-pointers in just three quarters while Paul Lee and Jio Jalalon had 15 points each.
“I’m very happy with our defense especially our perimeter defense. I challenged my players that we need to be mentally tough because Meralco is a dangerous team and they’re playing with little pressure,” said Star head coach Chito Victolero.
“My players are veterans and they step up in these kinds of games,” he added. “We prepared hard for this game and I’m very happy that all players stepped up and that we’re now in the quarters.”
Star, which rolled to its third straight win and upped its mark to 6-4, never let anything to chance as it led by as much as 55, 104-49, after a basket by Jalalon with 8:12 left.
A win by the Hotshots over the also-ran Mahindra Floodbuster on Wednesday in the final day of the elimination round will earn them the No. 2 spot.
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