Meralco head coach Luigi Trillo sang praises to import Marvin Jones for holding his own against defending champion TNT’s celebrated reinforcement Bol Bol in a showdown of giants.

Jones had a solid night, coming up with 29 points and 12 rebounds as the Bolts climbed to a share of second spot at the expense of the Tropang 5G, 110-106, in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup on Tuesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

“Yeah, you have to give credit to Marvin. He was a plus-14 at the half. He got into foul trouble there in the second half but it was great (that he played well),” said Trillo, whose squad climbed to a 4-1 win-loss record tied with NLEX.

The mentor lauded the seven-foot Jones for doing well in his matchup against the 7-foot-3 Bol, who was held to a personal conference-low production after averaging 37.3 points and 16.3 rebounds in TNT’s first three games.

“He held his own against Bol Bol. I think Bol Bol, still you know, amazing stats at 28 points and 12 rebounds. But I think that’s his career-low here,” Trillo said.

The Bolts were in full control of the rematch of the Philippine Cup semifinals and led by as many as 20 points. Meralco, however, had to weather the storm late in the fourth quarter as the Tropang 5G ignited a rally.

Jones was there to steady the ship and iced the game with a split from the line for a four-point lead with 10 seconds remaining as Bol missed a desperate four-pointer in TNT’s final possession.

However, Jones deflected the credit of the huge win to the Bolts’ collective effort.

“That’s just the mentality every game, you go out, you play a team game,” Jones said.

He also downplayed the matchup between him and Bol.

“I don’t make it about a one-on-one match. I don’t know how to play basketball that way. I’m used to playing team game in Europe. You share the ball, you move the ball and that’s the philosophy here,” he said.

Jones also praised Bol’s commitment to lifting his team and honoring the game by coming out with his best all the time.

“Big talent, good person (and) he’s like the fan favorite here,” Jones said.

“So, I just go out there, even though you can’t really play as physically as you want, but it’s a good team, good athletic team, talented team. It was fun.”