Meralco turned what was thought to be a dogfight to a lopsided mauling as it whipped Ginebra, 91-73, to arrest its two-game slide in the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup, Friday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Bolts jumped to a 19-8 start before breaking away wide in the second period, and would stay ahead the rest of the way as the incomplete Kings couldn’t muster any rally and eventually fell to their first loss after a 2-0 start.
“Maybe, we also caught Ginebra on an off-night,” said head coach Luigi Trillo, whose side is now keen on turning things around after a 1-3 start in the tilt.
Allein Maliksi bannered the assault with 25 points off the bench on 64-percent shooting from the field, including a 4-of-7 clip from beyond the arc.
Chris Newsome had 19 points, six rebounds, and four assists while Aaron Black chimed in 12 points, seven rebounds, and three assists for the Bolts, which led by as many as 31 points, 71-40, during the third quarter.
“We really have confidence in our guys (despite the 1-3 start). We know we’re better than that and there’s a lot of maturity all around led by Allein,” said Trillo.
Meralco (2-3) will head into a lengthy break before returning to action against Terrafirma on April 3, 4:30 p.m. also at the Big Dome.
Maverick Ahanmisi, on the other hand, had 14 points and six rebounds to lead Ginebra, who continues to miss the presence of lead playmaker Scottie Thompson, who is out indefinitely due to a nagging back injury.
Christian Standhardinger and Japeth Aguilar added 13 points apiece and combined for 13 rebounds in the blowout loss.
“I don’t have answers to any questions. I don’t know what the hell happened,” said Kings head coach Tim Cone, totally disappointed with the result.
Ginebra came into the match with momentum on its side but started out slow. It got held to only 14 points in the first quarter, and headed into the halftime break staring at a 46-27 deficit as the crew couldn’t find any rhythm.
The crowd darlings committed 19 turnovers, which have been their issue this conference so far. They’re now averaging 18.3 TOs after the loss.
Ginebra will try to bounce back against rival Magnolia after the long break on March 31, Sunday, 6:15 p.m. in Araneta as well.
The Scores:
Meralco 91 – Maliksi 25, Newsome 19, Black 12, Mendoza 8, Banchero 5, Hodge 4, Quinto 4, Pasaol 4, Almazan 3, Caram 2, Rios 2, Pascual 2, Dario 1, Torres 0.
Ginebra 73 – Ahanmisi 14, Standhardinger 13, J.Aguilar 13, David 8, Onwubere 6, Malonzo 4, Tenorio 3, Pessumal 3, Gumaru 2, R. Aguilar 2, Pringle 2, Pinto 1, Cu 0.
Quarterscores: 23-14, 46-27, 76-52, 91-73
