Even with a sprained ankle, Baser Amer still shone bright Wednesday night to help the Meralco Bolts give defending Commissioner’s Cup champions San Miguel Beermen a rude welcome, 93-85, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The 25-year-old got hurt with 5:54 left in the final frame, but that didn’t stop him from delivering as he led the Bolts’ 11-4 rally from 77-all en route to an 88-81 lead with 1:47 left to play, enough for Meralco to improve their card to 3-1.
Amer finished with a game-high 28 points — going 5-of-6 from rainbow country — on top of eight rebounds, three assists, and one steal.
“It’s always a big win if you beat San Miguel,” said Meralco head coach Norman Black. “We were hoping to catch them early and catch them rusty. We focused on our defense. We think that that’s the only way to win games.”
Chris Newsome supplied 23 points and seven rebounds. Jared Dillinger contributed 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor, while import Arinze Onuaku delivered 13 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists.
“The backcourt did very well today with Chris Newsome and Baser Amer finding their talents to win this basketball game,” added the Grand Slam coach, as the duo combined for 22 of the Bolts’ 28 points in the fourth quarter.
Import Troy Gillenwater led the defending champions with 19 points and 14 rebounds. June Mar Fajardo and Alex Cabagnot each scored 16 points and combined for 17 rebounds. Marcio Lassiter chipped in 15 markers.
Christian Standhardinger’s much-anticipated PBA debut proved to be a forgettable one, as the top overall pick of the 2017 PBA Draft only scored four points on five shots and grabbed just five rebounds, along with two dimes.
Meralco will take on Magnolia Hotshots next on May 18, Friday, 7:00 PM at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, while San Miguel will look to bounce back versus Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on Sunday, May 13, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The Scores:
Meralco 93 – Amer 28, Newsome 23, Dillinger 14, Onuaku 13, Hodge 5, Caram 5, Baracael 2, Tolomia 2, Canaleta 1, Hugnatan 0, Bono 0.
San Miguel 85 – Gillenwater 19, Fajardo 16, Cabagnot 16, Lassiter 15, Santos 10, Standhardinger 4, Heruela 3, Ross 2, Ganuelas-Rosser 0.
Quarterscores: 23-24, 45-41, 68-65, 93-85.
