Meralco dealt NorthPort its second loss of the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup following a 111-94 victory on Tuesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Bolts seized control in the second period before breaking away for good in the final frame en route to a 6-3 record, in the process gaining a share of the third spot with Hong Kong Eastern, Converge, and Ginebra in the standings.
“I think all those teams are jockeying for position to make the playoffs. So we just have to be ready,” offered head coach Luigi Trillo.
Akil Mitchell top-scored for the reigning Philippine Cup kings with 30 points and 13 rebounds and anchored their defense as well with five steals.
Chris Banchero fired a conference-high 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field, alongside four rebounds and six assists as he’s showing how much he’s recovered from the hamstring tear he suffered prior to the midseason tilt.
“It’s good to be back, it’s always nice to be healthy,” the veteran playmaker said. “It was a very important game for us. I was really excited to play NorthPort tonight because they’ve been playing the best in this conference.
“We really wanted to see where we’re at as a team,” added Banchero. “And I thought we responded well tonight and we did a very good job.”
Chris Newsome finished with 15 points, highlighted by a one-handed throwdown off a baseline drive that pushed their lead to 103-85 with 4:02 left to play — and served as the exclamation point to their beatdown of the no. 1 seed.
Meralco will soon head to Ilocos Sur to take on San Miguel (4-4) on Saturday, January 18, 7:30 p.m. at the Candon City Arena in a rematch
The Batang Pier, on the other hand, fell to 7-2 after absorbing their worst loss of the conference to date, which indeed should sting the crew of Coach Bonnie Tan as it came just a week after their 119-116 stunner of the Kings.
Kadeem Jack set the pace for NorthPort with 29 points and 14 rebounds. Arvin Tolentino supplied 19 points, while Joshua Munzon added 12 in the loss.
NorthPort tried to stage a fightback behind the aforementioned trio plus Evan Nelle and got to within just 10 twice early in the fourth quarter.
But Mitchell halted that mini run, before Jolo Mendoza then Chris Banchero nailed big triples to restore order for the Bolts, 101-85, with 5:19 to go.
The Batang Pier will look for a quick rebound when they take on Rain or Shine this Thursday, January 16, 5:00 p.m. at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
The Scores:
Meralco 111 – Mitchell 30, Banchero 25, Newsome 15, Quinto 8, Rios 8, Cansino 7, Mendoza 6, Caram 5, Almazan 4, Reyson 2, Pascual 1, Bates 0, Hodge 0, Torres 0.
NorthPort 94 – Jack 29, Tolentino 19, Munzon 12, Navarro 11, Nelle 8, Onwubere 7, Miranda 5, Yu 3, Flores 0, Bulanadi 0, Taha 0, Cuntapay 0, Tratter 0
Quarterscores: 24-21, 54-44, 82-69, 111-94.
