Vic Manuel of Alaska (foreground) beats Meralco defender Cliff Hodge to the basket during their match last night in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup at the Araneta Coliseum. ROMAN PROSPERO Streaking Meralco rode on blistering third quarter to cool down a previously blazing Alaska, 89-74, and fan its own twice-to-beat hope in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup last night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Clinging on a slim one-point lead at the half, 41-40, the Bolts zapped the Aces in the game-changing third period with a staggering 32-17 barrage to build a commanding 73-57 bubble entering the fourth quarter.
Behind conference breakout player Vic Manuel’s own 8-0 blast early final canto, the Aces cut down the lead to 65-73 before Baser Amer led Meralco’s counter attack with a quick 11-0 spree of their own to restore a mammoth 84-65 lead, only 6:43 left in the game.
That served as the dagger to Alaska’s seven game winning streak as Meralco held on the driver seat the rest of the way en route to an emphatic victory.
With the win, Meralco notched their fourth straight win to improve to 7-2, forging a two-way tie with its latest victim Alaska for the second spot.
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Alaska, meanwhile, had its seven-game spree halted and its own twice-to-beat chance derailed in a tough loss.
“We went into this game today knowing it’s gonna be tough,” said Meralco coach Norman Black.
“Alaska is scoring 108 points a game and we only gave up 87. Our defense was exceptional tonight,” he added.
The win also bolstered their twice-to-beat chances in the quarterfinals entering the last two games of the mid-season conference elimination round.
“Now that we’re able to beat Alaska, we can focus on that (twice to beat advantage). We’re not there yet but we still control our own fate. We have to win our next two games, unfortunately, against Talk ‘n Text and Rain or Shine,” Black added.
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