New acquisition KG Cañaleta quickly proved his worth to the Meralco Bolts, draining a cold-blooded trey in the final seconds left to help his team escape the gutsy Blackwater Elite, 103-98, in their PBA opener Friday at the Cuneta Astrodome.
Cañaleta, whom the Bolts acquired from free agency in the offseason, made the biggest shot of the night with 11.3 ticks left to play to douse cold water to the fiery 22-6 run by the Elite that erased Meralco’s 92-73 lead to just three.
And aside from saving Meralco, the 35-year-old also top-billed for his squad with 25 points on 64 percent shooting, on top of eight rebounds, two assists, and two blocks in the 28 minutes and 19 seconds he spent time on the floor.
“Special mention to KG tonight,” lauded Orangemen head coach Norman Black of the veteran six-foot-six wingman, who coincidentally last played for Blackwater last season. “He was exceptional tonight in scoring a rebounding.
“He’s going to be a very good addition to our team,” added Black of Cañaleta.
But more than the commendable showing of Cañaleta and his wards, what made Black even more glad with the victory is the fact that they had a good start in the Philippine Cup — the conference where they always struggle.
“It’s nice to have a good start in the all-Filipino,” said the outspoken mentor. “It’s a good start for us, considering that it’s the all-Filipino.”
Baser Amer also shined in the opening win, finishing with 17 markers — highlighted by the magical one-handed shot with 1:42 left that widened Meralco’s lead to 98-97 — along with a game-high 12 assists.
Jared Dillinger also finished with a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Chris Newsome produced 12 markers.
Blackwater’s defeat put into naught the eye-catching debut of rookie Raymar Jose, who made immediate impact with 16 points and six rebounds in nearly 22 minutes. Allein Maliksi also chipped in the same amount of points.
Sophomore Mac Belo scored 13, while the now tattoo-clad Poy Erram supplied 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Elite, who even had a great start to the match as they were able to post a 12-point lead in the first half.
Meralco will battle reigning all-Filipino kings San Miguel Beermen on December 27, Wednesday, 7:00pm at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. Blackwater, meanwhile, will face Rain or Shine Elasto Painters next Friday, December 29, at the same venue.
The Scores:
Meralco 103 – Canaleta 25, Amer 17, Dillinger 15, Newsome 12, Lanete 8, Ballesteros 6, Tolomia 6, Baracael 5, Faundo 4, Hugnatan 3, Caram 2, Salva 0.
Blackwater 98 – Jose 16, Maliksi 16, Sumang 15, Belo 13, Erram 11, Cortez 8, Javier 6, DiGregorio 6, Sena 4, Pinto 3, Cruz 0, Banal 0, Marcelo 0.
Quarterscores: 23-27, 44-44, 77-66, 103-98.
