The Meralco Bolts go home with their third straight win in the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup after outlasting a Rain or Shine Elasto Painters squad that had erased a 25-point deficit in the third quarter to bag the crucial 98-95 win, Wednesday night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Both teams struggled to score in the opening minutes of the first quarter. At the halfway mark, the score was 6-all, Jeff Chan having scored five of Rain or Shine’s six. It was the bigs who stood up to the challenge for Meralco, with import Arinze Onuako, Cliff Hodge, and Jared Dillinger hitting baskets to kick off the Bolts’ Meralco push. The Elasto Painters meanwhile found an unlikely hero in Maverick Ahanmisi, who had 8 points off the bench to lead Rain or Shine in their resurgence. At the end of the first twelve minutes, the Bolts led 19-15.
But with everyone else struggling to hit the right baskets, the Elasto Painters could only watch as the Meralco lead ballooned. Onuako, Hodge, Dillinger continued to hit basket after basket to lead the Bolts to a 51-31 with nine minutes gone by in the second. Powered by the frontcourt rampage, Meralco nailed a total of 42 points in the quarter and held the Elasto Painters to only five in the last three minutes en route to a 61-36 lead at halftime.
Meralco only continued to lead for most of the early third, but the tides would soon change. Ahaminsi, the Elasto Painter’s lone bright spot in the first half, found some much needed help in JR Quinahan, who scored eight points in a two minute stretch that helped the once-struggling Rain or Shine cut the lead to a manageable 60-73, with around four minutes left in the quarter. The run was capped off by a triple from Gabe Norwood to cut the lead to single digits, 65-73. The Elasto Painters’ 29-12 run came despite import Wayne Chism being led off the court due to leg problems.
Five more points from Norwood and crucial free throw baskets from Jeff Chan and Raymond Almazan cut the lead to a mere thread , 72-73, with around minutes left on the quarter. The score was tied, 76-all.
The fourth quarter opened to the Meralco bigs shrugging off the previous quarter’s lull, coming alive to give Meralco the lead. Despite the return of Meralco’s scoring, the Elasto Painters were able to keep up the pace. With just two minutes left, Meralco led by a hairline, 93-92.
Anjo Caram was able to extend the lead to three, 95-92, with a long two, and Arinze Onuako was able to chip in a basket to extend the lead to two possessions with a minute and a half left, 97-92. Quinahan however responded at the other end for the Elasto Painters, hitting a tough floater to trim the lead to two, 95-97, with just 33.2 left on the clock. Meralco had the chance to extend the lead in the next play, but lost possession with just 12.6 seconds left.
The Elasto Painters went to Quinahan for the triple and the lead, but his shot bounced off the rim. The ball was rebounded by Jared Dillinger, giving Meralco possession and the means to wait for time to expire. He shot one of two free throws from the Elasto Painters’ fouls to extend the lead. The last two seconds of play saw Quinahan miss the triple that could have salvaged the game for the Elasto Painters.
Import Arinze Onuaku took home Best Player of the Game honors following his 31 point, 27-rebound. Hared Dillinger and Cliff Hodge led the Meralco locals with 16 and 12 markers respectively.
Maverick Ahanmisi led the Elasto Painters with 19 points off the bench, with fellow bench personnel JR Quinahan and Jericho Cruz also helping with 15 points apiece. Wayne Chism was held to 3 points in 16 minutes of play, having been helped off the court in the third quarter after experiencing leg problems.
Meralco now stand at 3-0, while Rain or Shine goes 1-1.
The Scores:
Meralco (98) – Onuaku 31, Dillinger 16, Hodge 12, Bono 9, Caram 8, David 5, Nabong 4, Newsome 4, Amer 3, Faundo 2, Ferriols 2, Al-Hussaini 2.
Rain or Shine (95) – Ahanmisi 19, Quinahan 15, Cruz 15, Norwood 12, Almazan 8, Ponferada 6, Chan 6, Belga 5, Chism 3, Trollano 2, Matias 1.
Quarterscores: 19-15, 61-36, 76-76, 98-95.
