New import takes charge as Meralco overcomes Terrafirma

Games tomorrow:

(Ynares Center)

5 p.m. — TNT vs NorthPort

7:30 p.m. — NLEX vs San Miguel Beer

Jansen Rios hit a crucial go-ahead right corner three with 9.4 seconds left before Meralco got the lucky break to beat gritty but luckless Terrafirma, 96-91, for a third straight win and a share of the lead in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup Friday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The Bolts squandered a 13-point lead halfway through the payoff period and allowed the Dyip to knot it at 91 on a pair of charities by Vic Manuel with 1:05 left.

Terrafirma had an opportunity to take the helm but new import Brandon Walton-Edwards missed his stab at point-blank range paving the way for Rios’ triple.

The Dyip fumbled on their next possession as Manuel lost the handle on a strong inbound pass by Brent Paraiso before Chris Newsome sealed the deal with two free throws with 5.7 seconds left for the final count.

Meralco extended its unbeaten run to join idle NorthPort at the leaderboard, but head coach Luigi Trillo wasn’t thrilled with how the game wrapped up.

“We’re not happy with the way we executed. We had it in the bag and we let them, in the last three minutes, get back in the game. It’s good that Jansen hit that three,” he said.

Reinforcement DJ Kennedy made a resounding introduction with an explosive debut of 32 points, six rebounds and four assists to power Meralco.

Limited to only three points entering the break, the replacement import poured 29 points in the second half. Kennedy, who took over the spot of injured Akil Mitchell (broken nose), poured 19 points in the third canto where the Bolts led by as many as 16.