Meralco put on a dominant performance and sent Terrafirma crashing back to earth by way of a 118-80 waylaying to capture the early lead in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup, Sunday evening at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The defending champs no longer needed to rally like they did against Converge in the conference opener. Instead, they jumped to a 30-16 lead before breaking the game wide open in the third quarter to beat a Dyip that returned to its old ways.
A group motivated to do its best in what could be its final conference, the frequent early vacationers wanted to follow up their win over Phoenix only to get humiliated by a team that’s keen to go back-to-back in the tournament.
(C) PBA Images
“We had a big lead in the second quarter, we were up by 20. They came back within seven. But the guys were making shots, and we were able to continue keeping that lead,” offered head coach Luigi Trillo.
Six players scored in double figures in the rout, with rookie CJ Cansino leading the way with 19 points as he nailed three of the team’s five four-pointers.
Fellow rookie Kurt Reyson made 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor, while Bong Quinto delivered 13 points, three rebounds, and five assists.
Quinto went on to earn Player of the Game honors as he was responsible for starting the onslaught by opening the game with a four and then a triple.
“Talagang ready kami every game namin especially sa practice nain. Sila coach Luigi, coach Nenda pinupush nila kami na lahat ng dapat namin gawin sa game, gawin namin sa practice para masanay kami,” the seasoned winger said.
Alvin Pasaol, Brandon Bates, and Jolo Mendoza added 11 points apiece as plenty of others stepped up with main man Chris Newsome apparently placed under minutes restrictions after tweaking his ankle against the FiberXers.
Now at 2-0, Meralco will look to extend its winning ways when it battles San Miguel on April 9 in the league’s 50th anniversary offering at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum, in which both teams will don throwback uniforms for the retro vibe.
(C) PBA Images
Louie Sangalang, on the other hand, had 23 points to lead Terrafirma in the defeat. Guards Stanley Pringle and Aljun Melecio made 11 points each.
The Dyip (1-1) will look to get back on track immediately when they welcome the debuting NorthPort on Saturday, April 12, still at NAS.
The Scores:
Meralco 118 – Cansino 19, Reyson 16, Quinto 13, Pasaol 11, Bates 11, Mendoza 11, Caram 9, Hodge 7, Torres 5, Almazan 4, Jose 4, Rios 3, Black 2, Newsome 2, Pascual 1
Terrafirma 80 – Sangalang 23, Melecio 11, Pringle 11, Nonoy 10, Romeo 9, Catapusan 7, Ramos 6, Zaldivar 3, Hernandez 0, Hanapi 0, Paraiso
Quarterscores: 30-16, 56-43, 86-56, 118-80.
