Meralco simply proved steadier down the stretch and went on to outlast Macau in a thrilling encounter, 115-110, to notch its third consecutive win in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup, Saturday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Bolts found themselves trailing by a field goal with 3:58 to go but youngster CJ Cansino took matters into his own hands, scoring in back-to-back fashion to put themselves ahead for good, 111-109, with less than two minutes remaining.
Ramon Cao cut the spread to just a point following a split from the charity stripe but momentum was already on the opposing team’s side, with import Marvin Jones pushing their lead back to 113-110 with 45.1 seconds to spare.
Cansino then came through with a big denial by swatting away Phoenix Shackleford’s attempt from beyond the arc, before Jansen Rios fully closed the door on the Black Knights with a conversion inside with 9.8 ticks left to play.
Jones finished with 32 points and 14 rebounds to lead Meralco, who broke away from NLEX to grab solo second in the standings after improving to 5-1.
