After a dismal third quarter and an eight point deficit, Chris Newsome provided the spark while Cliff Hodge went on to finish for the league-leading Meralco Bolts in a 94-86 win over the Mahindra Enforcers Sunday afternoon at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
The Bolts were down 29-18 in the opening frame as they could not stop the duo of Aldrech Ramos and Augustus Gilchrist. Gilchrist scored 12 points in the quarter while Ramos was able to knockdown long jumpers for five points in an excellent Mahindra quarter.
“The first half was rusty particularly the first quarter,” Meralco head coach Norman Black admitted. “The second quarter we played better which allowed us to get back in the basketball game.”
Mahindra continued to surge in the early parts of the second stanza as Meralco could not just find the bucket. The Mahindra lead grew to as high as 14, 34-20, with 7:55 left in the quarter after a Hyram Bagatsing jumper. Slowly though, Meralco was able to lock-in on defense as they were able to make a 14-4 run led by Cliff Hodge. Moreover, this helped give the Bolts a 45-44 lead during halftime.
Mahindra’s defense was stingy to say the least during the third canto. They were able to seal Meralco import Arinze Onuaku well while shutting out the passing lanes that gave the Enforcers a 70-60 lead to enter the final frame.
With their backs against the wall, Black changed the offensive strategy of the team in the fourth quarter. “We had to switch our defensive philosophy a little bit form the post to attacking from the outside with pick and roll,” he said.
The Bolts were able to tie the game at 74-all during the first four minutes of the fourth quarter behind the all-around performance of Chris Newsome. A long two by LA Revilla and a triple by Karl Dehesa extended the Mahindra lead to five once more, 81-76, with five minutes remaining. However, Meralco found their touch from downtown as Jimmy Alapag, Baser Amer, and Jared Dillinger were able to knock down threes to keep pace with Revilla and Dehesa.
After Amer’s second three of the quarter that gave Meralco an 87-86 lead with 2:26 remaining, Hodge went on a 5-0 run, the last three points coming from a three-point play with 48 ticks remaining. A turnover by KG Canaleta led to free throws for Alapag to seal the game 94-86.
“I thought Mahindra did a good job on doubling Onuaku quickly and cutting off passing lanes,” Black said after the game. He though praised rookie Chris Newsome’s near triple-double performance in saying, “Chris Newsome did a good jon in the third and fourth quarters doing the pick and rolls.”
Cliff Hodge notched a double-double with 25 points on 11/15 shooting form the field and 11 boards. Newsome added 15 points, nine boards, and seven dimes in just 26 minutes of action.
Gilchrist also tallied a double-double with 20 points and 13 boards for Mahindra. Four other Enforcers scored in double-digits with Dehesa scoring 15, Ramos with 12, Yee with 11, and Revilla with 10. However, Mahindra was just 43% as a team from the field compared to 48% for Meralco.
The league-leading Meralco Bolts (7-2) play their penultimate game of the elimination round on Friday, April 8 as they face the Alaska Aces at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. On the other hand, the Mahindra Enforcers (4-5) fight for their playoff lives on Saturday, April 9 against Tropang TNT.
The Scores:
Meralco (94) – Hodge 25, Onuaku 16, Newsome 15, Hugnatan 13, Alapag 8, Dillinger 7, Amer 6, Faundo 4, Bono 0, Ry Buenafe 0, Caram 0, Ferriols 0,
Mahindra (86) – Gilchrist 20, Dehesa 15, Ramos 12, Yee 11, Revilla 10, Canaleta 6, Digregorio 3, Pinto 3, Bagatsing 2, Ballesteros 2, Guinto 2.
Quarterscores: 18-29, 45-44, 60-70, 94-86.
