Meralco took advantage of Bol Bol’s exit and came away with the 87-67 victory over TNT to tie things up in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semis, Friday night.
The 7-foot-3 big man left the SM Mall of Asia Arena due to a suspected Achilles tear on his left foot, which left the Tropang 5G with an all-local lineup, and the Bolts would go on to climb back into the match before unleashing a strong finish.
Marvin Jones benefitted from not having a counterpart, especially in the endgame. He struck the dagger triple for the 85-76 lead with 59 seconds remaining to seal the deal and even the race-to-4 series at one game apiece.
(C) PBA Images
“You have to take advantage of these opportunities. We don’t know who they’re bringing in, but obviously, Bol Bol is a different kind of player. They’ve started to figure it out — he was passing the ball,” offered head coach Luigi Trillo.
“We can’t control what they’re doing, but what we can control is going back to the drawing board a little bit, see what they do, clean up a little bit of the mistakes we’ve made,” added the veteran bench tactician.
Chris Newsome led Meralco with 24 points, with Jones coming through with 16 points and 13 rebounds as he finally managed to beat an import-less opponent — something they couldn’t do against Rain or Shine in the eliminations.
Javee Mocon also tallied 16 points with five rebounds, while Cliff Hodge delivered a double-double of his own with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
(C) PBA Images
Carrying the bulk of the scoring load for TNT, on the other hand, were Roger Pogoy and Calvin Oftana with 27 and 22 points, respectively.
The only other player in double digits was Bol himself, who already had 10 points and six rebounds before going down with the non-contact injury at the 2:49 mark of the opening period after attacking the rim. He did not return to the game.
Inevitably, they lost the lead they built early, but remained competitive thanks to the star wings. However, defense proved to be the difference as the Bolts doubled down on the whole crew, preventing them from stealing the lead back.
Game 3 is on Sunday, still at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, and it remains to be seen if the reigning champions will be able to field a new import in lieu of Bol.
The Scores:
Meralco 87 – Newsome 24, Jones 16, Mocon 16, Hodge 12, Quinto 6, Cansino 5, Brickman 3, Black 3, Rios 2, Banchero 0, Bates 0.
TNT 76 – Pogoy 27, Oftana 22, Bol 10, Heading 6, Nambatac 4, Quitevis 2, Khobuntin 2, Chua 2, Ferrer 1, Williams 0, Ganuelas-Rosser 0, Enciso 0, Nieto 0.
Quarterscores: 15-22, 35-40, 57-57, 87-76.
