Meralco pulls off great escape; Abueva fined anew
RAYMOND Almazan and the Meralco Bolts hang tough down the stretch to eke out a scary 86-83 win over the Terrafirma Dyip in the PBA Philippine Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. | PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF PBA
Games Friday:
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
4:30 p.m. — TNT vs NorthPort
7:30 p.m. — Ginebra vs San Miguel
Meralco gutted it out against a hard-fighting Terrafirma by a close shave, 86-83, to collect its second straight win in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
In a tight match filled with heroes, it was Bong Quinto who stood out, scoring the Bolts' last seven points to lift them to an even 3-3 win-loss record tied with the Dyip.
"We just wanted the players inside, we wanted a guy who can inbound the ball and guys who can shoot it, obviously, this guy here. I guess he's been a regular in the Best Player of the game," Meralco coach Luigi Trillo said of his prized scorer.
"Hats off to Terrafirma. You'll notice they're playing really well. We really had a hard time against. They are an up-and-coming team. We just had to gut it out."
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Quinto finished with 18 points on 6-of-7 field goal shooting, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists for the Bolts.
Norbert Torres scored 15 points including eight in the crucial 12-2 run in the fourth quarter that gave Meralco a 79-74 lead with 4:52 left. Raymond Almazan made 14 markers to contribute on offense while Allein Maliksi struggled from the field with 2-of-11 shooting for six points.
Quinto knocked down a crucial triple followed by a split at the foul line to give Meralco back the lead, 83-81, to douse cold water on Terrafirma's 7-0 counterattack with 45 seconds left in the game.
Maliksi stole the ball from Stephen Holt on the defensive end and dished out a nifty pass to Quinto for an easy basket. Holt answered with two foul shots to cut Meralco's lead to 85-83 with 6.6 ticks left.
Quinto iced the game from the line making his first with 5.5 seconds left before Cliff Hodge pulled down the biggest board of the game in his missed second attempt.
Holt finished with 20 points, Juami Tiongson had a double-double of 20 markers and 10 boards while Aldrech Ramos and Javi Gomez de Liano scored 11 each for the Dyip.
Meanwhile, Calvin Abueva of Magnolia was slapped with a one-game suspension and a P20,000 fine following his obscene gesture against a fan in the Hotshots' game against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel last Sunday.
League commissioner Willie Marcial summoned the fiery Magnolia star to the PBA office Wednesday afternoon to receive his sanctions and hear his side.
Abueva flashed a middle finger at a fan in the first quarter of the Hotshots' 77-87 loss.
"He knows he was wrong for doing it. He apologized for what he had done. Calvin Abueva will receive a one-game suspension and P20,000 fine," Marcial said.
"I told him if this happens again I will extend his suspension and hike his fine. He told me he won't do it again."
Abueva will sit out Magnolia's game against NLEX on Saturday.
