Meralco compounded Blackwater’s troubles, 98-77, for a victorious start to the 2021-22 PBA Governors’ Cup, Thursday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Perennial contenders in the season-ending conference, the Bolts seized control in the second quarter. They never let up after that en route to stretching the injury-riddled Bossing’s losing skid record to 22 games.
“It’s exactly what we really hoped for, and what we wanted. We wanted to get off to a great start in this conference and try to catch up with the teams that have already played a lot of games,” said head coach Norman Black.
Tony Bishop made a good account of himself in his debut on Philippine soil, finishing with 28 points on 55-percent shooting from the field to lead Meralco. He also had 13 rebounds. three blocks, two assists, and two steals.
“Tony Bishop did a great job in his first game, scoring the basketball for us, rebounding, blocking shots… Showing that he has a lot of versatility in his game,” offered Black as his import has only been in the country for two weeks.
The Panamanian cager, a last-minute replacement for Shabazz Muhammad, scored 16 in the first half. He also helped lead the Bolts’ second period surge.
Game was actually tied at 18-all early in the said period, until Nards Pinto scored off a drive to the hoop. Not only did it break the deadlock, it sparked a 21-7 blitz for his side. That gave them a 39-25 lead with 5:45 remaining.
The opposition showed some signs of life early in the third, but they can only do so much. Bishop and Pinto once again led a run to give Meralco a commanding 75-51 lead with less than a minute to go in the quarter.
“I was never expecting we were gonna blow anybody out. We’re the type of team that can beat the top teams. But we can also lose to the lower teams, too, so we can’t be overconfident or mayabang,” said Black.
“We just gotta get out there, and grind it out, and get a win. That’s the most important thing. In other words, you always have respect for your opponents.”
Pinto finished with 18 points, including 11 in the second chapter. The floor general also racked up seven assists, three rebounds, and two steals.
Black added, “Nards Pinto was great tonight. I thought the combination of Nards Pinto and Anjo Caram coming off the bench defensively was a difference-maker and changed the momentum of the game as soon as they entered in the first.”
Meanwhile, Chris Newsome made 11 points. Raymond Almazan chimed in 10 markers and nine boards in the 21-point thrashing.
“Raymond Almazan played really really well defensively guarding the import, and scoring inside for us,” said Black. “So, it’s a good start for us. It’s something we can build on going into our future games.”
Blackwater was led by Rashawn McCarthy with 19 points. Import Jaylen Bond was the only other double-digit scorer with 18, alongside 15 rebounds.
The Bossing were without a number of players due to injuries. Per the broadcast report, JVee Casio sat out with a hurt ankle. On the other hand, Joshua Torralba is out for several weeks due to a meniscal tear.
Also out was Andre Paras.
Baser Amer saw action for a few minutes in the second quarter, but never returned afterward as he didn’t play through his hurt left calf anymore.
Blackwater (0-3) will now have to make do with what it has. The struggling ball club hopes to end its misery versus San Miguel (1-2) on Saturday at 5:30 PM.
The Scores:
Meralco 98 – Bishop 28, Pinto 18, Newsome 11, Almazan 10, Pasaol 6, Quinto 5, Belo 5, Maliksi 5, Hodge 4, Black 4, Jamito 2, Johnson 0, Baclao 0.
Blackwater 77 – McCarthy 19, Bond 18, Ebona 9, McAloney 9, Daquioag 8, Chauca 4, Desiderio 3, Baloria 3, Escoto 2, Amer 2, Washington 0, Gabriel 0.
Quarterscores: 16-16, 48-36, 75-54, 98-77.
