The Meralco Bolts stamped their class all over the iECO Green Warriors-PBA D-League All Stars in a tune-up Monday afternoon, 76-57, in a friendly between ball clubs gearing up for their respective stints overseas in the coming weeks.
Meralco are working out for the 2018 FIBA Asia Champions Cup in Nonthaburi, Thailand set from September 27 to October 2, while iECO are prepping up for the Asia League’s Terrific 12 tilt in Macau from September 28 to 23.
The Bolts gained control of the match come the third canto, when they posted their first double-digit lead, 57-47, with 48 seconds left. They would go on to pull off a 13-4 rally en route to a 70-51 advantage with 2:31 to go in the fourth.
Meralco would lead by as many as 22 points, 76-54, after Anjo Caram’s mid-range jumper with 36 ticks left to play.
The Orangemen played without main pieces Jared Dillinger, Cliff Hodge, and Ranidel de Ocampo. The Green Warriors, on the other hand, were without Ron Dennison and American reinforcement Sam Logwood.
This is now the second straight loss of iECO in tune-up games – they lost to the Philippine Men’s National Basketball Team this Sunday, 82-99. They will still have a pair of friendlies set up this week before they leave for Macau.
The Bolts, meanwhile, are in the process of searching for another reinforcement to pair with their resident PBA Governors’ Cup import Allen Durham, as the Champions Cup allows club teams to field in two foreign enforcers.
