Meralco restored power in the second quarter after an early blackout before cruising past Converge, 116-88, for its third straight win and a hold of the solo lead in Group A of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Still undermanned with some key players out including do-it-all forward Cliff Hodge, the Bolts played with a next-man-up mentality to overhaul a first quarter deficit and turn it into a convincing victory for a 4-1 win-loss record.
Anjo Caram heeded the call as the spitfire guard fired 11 of his 16 points in Meralco’s electrifying performance in the third canto that set the tone for the rout.
Meralco closed the opening salvo of the double-round robin elimination round on top.
“We didn’t start out too well just like in the last game but as the game progressed it seemed we had more of a sense of urgency defensively,” Bolts coach Luigi Trillo said after handing the FiberXers their second straight defeat.
Meralco came out of the dugout after the intermission on fire, dropping 33 points in the third period to break the game open.
From there everything fell into place for the Bolts, who built their biggest lead, 114-84, after Raymar Jose completed a three-point play with 1:27 left in the game.
“I thought we played better defense in the second quarter and we started the third quarter great,” Trillo said.
Allen Durham bannered Meralco with a double-double of 27 points and 14 rebounds he spiked with six assists.
Chris Banchero had 24 points while Alvin Pasaol scored 10 as all 12 available Bolts players contributed points.
Caram had a great shooting night with 6-of-8 clips from the field including perfect 4-of-4 triples for the Bolts, who will miss Hodge for at least two weeks due to back issues.
Still out for the Bolts are key players Aaron Black (knee), Allein Maliksi (knee) and Raymond Almazan (knee and back).
“What’s nice is you have guys like Anjo. Anjo is a pro he’s ready to play. Not only him, Alvin I think played well today so. The other guys who don’t usually get many minutes they were huge today in their contributions for us,” Trillo said.
Converge controlled the opening frame with torrid shooting led by Scotty Hopson and Alec Stockton, taking advantage of Meralco’s sluggish start.
The Bolts got their game going in the second frame, outscoring the FiberXers, 27-18, to turn a six-point deficit at the end of the first 12 minutes into a 53-50 advantage entering the half.
Converge closed their first round with a 2-3 card.
Hopson finished with 33 points, pulled down six rebounds and dished out six assists for the FiberXers.
Stockton added 13, John delos Santos posted 12 while Jeo Ambohot added 10 in a lost cause.
The score:
MERALCO (116) — Durham 27, Banchero 24, Caram 16, Pasaol 12, Mendoza 10, Cansino 6, Newsom 5, Quinto 5, Jose 5, Rios 3, Bates 2, Pascual 1.
CONVERGE (88) — Hopson 33, Stockton 13, Delos Santos 12, Ambohot 10, Santos 8, Winston 5, Maagdenberg 4, Andrade 3, Fleming 0, Racal 0, Nieto 0, Caralipio 0, Melecio 0, Fornilos 0, Cabagnot 0.
Quarters: 26-32, 53-50, 86-73, 116-88.