Bolts take down Texters for third-straight win

MANILA, Philippines – Well-distributed energy.

The Meralco Bolts notched their third-straight win to keep their record unblemished in the 2015 PBA Commissioner’s Cup, using a balanced attack to take down sister team Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters, 91-83, on Wednesday, February 4 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Bolts now sit at the top of the standings at 3-0 following what is the franchise’s best start in a conference ever since joining the league in 2010.

Meralco used a balanced attack to negate the Texters’ deadly combo of import Richard Howell and guard Jayson Castro who scored 24 and 18 points respectively. Six bolts scored at least 8 points led by shooting guard Gary David who scored 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field.

John Wilson had a good performance from beyond the arc hitting 4-of-8 of his three-point fields goals. He finished the game with 12 points.

Bolts import Josh Davis had his worst scoring output of the conference so far finishing with just 8 points but he made up for it in the rebounding department grabbing a game-high 17 rebounds.

The game also marked Jared Dillinger’s return from injury after sitting out Meralco’s first two games. He finished with 5 points and 3 rebounds on nearly 14 minutes of action.

Talk ‘N Text trailed for most of the game. In the final period, they came closest to Meralco after a Ranidel De Ocampo jumper cut the deficit to two, 80-78, with about 6 minutes left to play in the game.

De Ocampo was the only other Texter to score in double figures, finishing with 11 points to go along with 4 rebounds and 3 assists. The Texters now hold a 2-1 record.

Scores:

MERALCO (91) – David 17, Wilson 12, Hodge 11, Cortez 11, Davis 8, Hugnatan 8, Anthony 6, Ferriols 6, Reyes 5, Dillinger 5, Ildefonso 2, Atkins 0, Buenafe 0, Sena 0, Macapagal 0.

TALK N’ TEXT (83) – Howell 24, Castro 18, De Ocampo 11, Alas 8, Miller 7, Fonacier 6, Washington 3, Carey 3, Rosser 3, Labagala 0, Williams 0, Espiritu 0, Reyes 0.

Quarter scores: 28-21, 46-41, 72-65, 91-83

– Rappler.com