Seeing their nemesis for the past two years return, the Meralco Bolts gave Justin Brownlee a rude welcome in the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup, as they tore apart the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 93-82, Friday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Bolts improved to 4-2 to reach solo third in the team standings, while the Gin Kings went down to 1-4.
“We should not be part of the welcoming party,” quipped Meralco head coach Norman Black. “Brownlee is a really good player and he’s already proven in the past that it’s very difficult to deal with him… You can only slow him down.”
Arinze Onuaku had himself a night, powering the Orangemen with 24 points and 23 rebounds and five assists. Chris Newsome was all over the place as well with 22 points, five rebounds, five assists, a steal, and a block.
The match was still for the taking for both teams until the Bolts waxed hot in the third canto. They tasted their first double-digit lead at the 6:44 mark, 57-47, and it grew to 17, 73-56, after an Onuaku trey with five ticks left in the frame.
The Barangay failed to mount any comeback after that, and they were not able to close in by less than 10 points until the final buzzer rang.
Jared Dillinger had 13 points and five rebounds for Meralco. The diminutive Anjo Caram nearly had a double-double of 12 points and seven assists, while Baser Amer chipped in 10 markers on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor.
Cliff Hodge only had four markers, but he made noise in the match for the wrong reasons, as he got into brief altercation with Ginebra head coach Tim Cone. But it was the multi-titled mentor who got slapped with a technical foul.
The Bolts welcomed Ranidel De Ocampo back, as the veteran wingman has recovered from an lower leg injury.
Brownlee led the crowd darlings with a triple-double of 20 points, 16 rebounds, and 12 assists. Japeth Aguilar had 13 points and six boards, while Scottie Thompson supplied 12 markers, four rebounds, and three assists.
Meralco will look to sustain their run versus the Phoenix Fuel Masters on June 8, Friday, 7:00 PM at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, while Ginebra will next take on the San Miguel Beermen in a titanic clash on Sunday, June 3, 6:45 PM, still at the MoA Arena.
The Scores:
Meralco 93 – Onuaku 24, Newsome 22, Dillinger 13, Caram 12, De Ocampo 5, Hodge 4, Canaleta 0, Hugnatan 0.
Ginebra 89 – Brownlee 20, Aguilar 13, Thompson 12, Slaughter 8, Mercado 7, Tenorio 6, Devance 6, Caguioa 5, Caperal 5, Cruz 0.
Quarterscores: 28-22, 48-42, 73-58, 93-89
