Jansen Rios was poise personified as Meralco survived the hungry Terrafirma, 96-91, to chalk up its third win in as many outings in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup, Friday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The 33-year-old nailed a corner trey to break the 91-all tie with 9.4 seconds left, before miscues by the Dyip enabled the Bolts to leave with the W after almost losing a 13-point lead which they built past the midway mark of the fourth.
Rios finished with 11 points spiked by a pair of threes to help the crew join NorthPort on top of the standings. Both teams tote similar 3-0 records.
“We were lucky,” said head coach Luigi Trillo. “That last three minutes, we let them back into the game. It’s good that Jansen hit that three.”
DJ Kennedy led Meralco with 32 points, six rebounds, four assists, and a steal as Akli Mitchell’s pinch-hitter overcame early foul trouble, which saw him get called for three personal fouls in his first four minutes in the game.
Chris Newsome flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 15 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists, which he laced with three steals.
Raymond Almazan supplied 15 markers as well alongside 12 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks for the Bolts, who are off to their first 3-0 start since the 2021-22 Governors’ Cup, where they went all the way to the Finals.
Meralco will shoot for win no. 4 next week when it faces Blackwater on December 12, Thursday, 7:30 p.m. also at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Brandon Edwards, on the other hand, finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds in his debut to lead Terrafirma, who couldn’t capitalize on its chances in the closing moments that may have altered the course of the ball game.
Edwards himself could’ve actually broken the 91-all deadlock when Vic Manuel found him open for a drop pass underneath but couldn’t convert, leading to that back-breaking three by Rios off a Kennedy dish that dejected the Dyip.
The crew had a chance to at least tie the game after that, but the inbound pass intended for Vic Manuel near the rim sailed out of bounds.
Brent Paraiso had 20 points, while Manuel and Louie Sangalang had 13 and 10 points, respectively, for Terrafirma, which fell to 0-4 following the defeat.
The Scores:
Meralco 96 – Kennedy 32, Newsome 15, Almazan 15, Rios 11, Caram 7, pascual 6, Quinto 4Hodge 3, Pasaol 2, Black 1, Jose 0, Torres 0.
Terrafirma 91 – Edwards 21, Paraiso 20, Manuel 13, Sangalang 10, Melecio 9, Pringle 6, Olivario 5, Catapusan 2, Nonoy 2, Ramos 2, Ferrer 1, Hernandez 0, Zaldivar 0.
Quarterscores: 21-20, 39-40, 69-61, 96-91.
