Explosive rebound

We consider this a good bounce back win coming off our lost to NLEX.

ALLEN Durham carries Meralco past Alaska. ROMAN PROSPERO

Meralco bounced back from its disappointing loss and downed Alaska, 101-75, for its second win in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup last night at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Baser Amer led the charge with 27 points, five rebounds and four assists and shot 6-of-11 from the rainbow territory while import Allen Durham was one assist shy of a triple-double performance with 25 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists.

“We consider this a good bounce back win coming off our lost to NLEX, “ said Bolts head coach Norman Black, who also drew 15 points, nine rebounds and two blocks from Raymond Almazan.

“Our defense in the second half was really good, combine that with the fact that Baser Amer got really hot in the three-point line, that’s why we were able to separate in the third quarter.”

Holding a 43-37 halftime lead, Amer anchored Meralco’s breakaway as he initiated an 8-0 run to stretch their lead to 62-46 with 5:45 left in the third period.

The Bolts were relentless in the final quarter and Almazan sparked another 9-0 blast to push their lead to 20, 81-61, with 9:10 remaining in the game.

Their lead reached as high as 30 points, 101-71, as the undermanned Aces absorbed their fourth straight loss, keeping new head coach Jeffrey Cariaso winless in his PBA debut.

“I think AD (Allen Durham) did well. He rebounded the ball well. Raymond Almazan played great basketball for us as well, so we just got to continue to play solid defense,” Black said.

“We always talk about Meralco being a defensive team but against NLEX weren’t able to do that, so we really wanted to focus today on establishing ourselves as a really good defensive team.”

Chris Banchero and Simon Enciso led Alaska with 12 points apiece while new import Franko House, who replaced the injured Justin Watts, struggled in his league debut as he just scored eight points on 2-of-9 shooting from the field in 31 minutes.

Meralco played like a well-oiled machine, issuing 25 assists compared to Alaska’s 17 and had 26 points off turnovers of the Aces.

But Black admitted Amer’s explosion made it easier for them to improve their win-loss record to 2-1.

“The game is a lot easier when we make three-point shots. Baser really got loose today and hit a lot of outside shots, that’s really not our strength. Its something we try to work on everyday,” said Black.

“It’s going to get harder from here. We expect a tough and very physical game on Sunday.”