With Alex Stepheson striking the game-sealing dagger and Baser Amer living up to his leadership role, the Meralco Bolts were able to weather a Rain or Shine Elasto Painters late-game threat to come out triumphant, 89-83, and deal the latter their first loss on Wednesday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“From my perspective, another good defensive outing for us,” said Meralco head coach Norman Black on the win that improved their card to 4-0. “We limited Rain or Shine to below 90 points and that’s good for us. We know they score a lot of points.”
The American reinforcement paced Meralco with another double-double, scoring 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting along with 15 rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal in the 36 minutes he saw action.
“For Alex, he played well defensively and that’s what we need when we play San Miguel,” said Black of Stepheson.
But it was the new lead point guard Amer who strikingly starred for the Bolts, finishing with 17 markers on a 66.6 percent shooting clip and a career-high 11 rebounds.
“Special mention to Baser Amer who is playing spectacular basketball. He deserves a lot of credit to how he is handling the team. After four conferences, he is maturing as a basketball player,” Black lauded.
In a tight tiff that saw both squads go at it right from the get-go, the Bolts finally had the chance to pull away in the fourth quarter, zooming to a 10-4 run anchored by Stepheson, to establish the game’s widest gap at 10, 82-72, with 2:49 to go.
However, the Elasto Painters displayed their late-game expertise once more. With Gabe Norwood, James Yap, and Shawn Taggart joining hands, the once double-digit gap suddenly turned to two points, 85-83, with 40.1 seconds left.
That proved to be the final run for Rain or Shine though. Amer and Stepheson executed a pick-and-roll set from the top, and it went perfectly. Stepheson made the lay-up, and Meralco led by two possessions, 87-83, with 26.5 ticks remaining.
The Elasto Painters still attempted to push one last run, but Taggart’s triple attempt missed. And Stepheson was there to haul down the rebound with less than 20 seconds left, signaling the end of the night for Rain or Shine.
Cliff Hodge managed to chip in 12 points and eight rebounds to round up Meralco’s scoring leaders, despite having to sit out in the fourth quarter due to an injury.
Taggart led RoS with 27 points and 13 rebounds, while Jericho Cruz supplied 12 markers.
Despite the win, Meralco was still out-rebounded sparingly, 64-54. And the Elasto Painters did better on free throws, sinking 27 of their 35 shots.
Both squads will have their respective next games this Sunday, April 2, at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum. Rain or Shine will face Alaska first at 4:30 PM, while Meralco will go up against the debuting San Miguel at 7:00 PM.
The Scores:
Meralco (89) – Stepheson 21, Amer 17, Hodge 12, Dillinger 9, Nabong 8, Newsome 7, Daquioag 6, Caram 6, Hugnatan 3, Chua 0, Faundo 0, Uyloan 0.
Rain or Shine (83) – Taggart 27, Cruz 12, Norwood 9, Almazan 8, Chan 7, Ahanmisi 6, Yap 6, Belga 5, Washington 3, Tiu 0, Tolomia 0, Ponferrada 0, Trollano 0.
Quarterscores: 17-13, 45-34, 64-59, 89-83.
