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MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The Meralco Bolts stayed alive in the semifinals after routing the Alaska Aces, 86-70, to force a winner-take-all Game 5 for a finals ticket in the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Monday, May 2 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Jared Dillinger led Meralco scorers with 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 triples including a buzzer-beating heave from Alaska’s end of the court to stretch the lead to 10 entering the final frame.
Arinze Onuaku contributed 16 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, and 5 blocks as he relentlessly protected the paint. Cliff Hodge had a double-double of 14 markers and 12 boards.
Meralco benefitted as well from Bryan Faundo’s mid-range game as he made half of his shots for 12 points on top of 7 rebounds.
“This game was basically about just trying to live to fight another day,” said head coach Norman Black. “The last 24 hours we focused on just trying to force a Game 5.”
The Bolts used a huge 23-4 run bridging the third and fourth quarters to blow up a 54-52 lead late in the third to 77-56 with 6:16 left to play.
The Aces tried for a last-ditch rally and came to within 13 points but Jimmy Alapag doused water on the run with a big 3-pointer.
Meralco’s defense was key coupled with poor shooting from Alaska (33%) in the low-scoring affair.
“We really got to the basics as far as our defense was concerned. We’ve been making a few adjustments in this series against Alaska that haven’t worked out very well,” Black shared. “So we went back to the basics of our defense and it really held up for us.”
The deciding Game 5 will be played on Wednesday, May 4 with the winner set to face the waiting Rain or Shine.
Black said he will be pacing his players to maintain their level of energy from Game 4.
“How we pace our players in the next 24 hours is going to be very, very important. I thought in Game 3 of the second half we pretty much died out as far as our effort and energy was concerned,” he noted.
“So coming into Game 5 it’s important that we are fresh, energized, and hungry. And if we can accomplish those things we might have a good chance of winning.”
Scores:
Meralco (86): Dillinger 17, Onuaku 16,Hodge 14, Faundo 12, Caram 8, Newsome 7, Alapag 6, Hugnatan 6. Bono 0, Buenafe Ry 0, Amer 0.
Alaska (70): Dozier 18, Abueva 10, Jazul 10, Hontiveros 8, Baclao 6, Thoss 6, Banchero 5, Exciminiano 3, Baguio 2, Dela Rosa 2, Dela Cruz 0, Eman 0.
Quarter scores: 19-16, 36-34, 62-52, 86-70.
– Rappler.com
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