Meralco learns from experience, escapes Air21

MANILA, Philippines – At the end of regulation, Meralco Bolts head coach Ryan Gregorio was crouched low and pounding on the hardwood of the Mall of Asia Arena. 

He had just witnessed Air21 Express’ KG Canaleta knock down a corner triple – one that was eerily reminiscent of another buzzer-beating 3 he saw from Ginebra’s Japeth Aguilar about a week ago, where they lost by a solitary point. This time, however, Canaleta’s triple only sent the game into overtime. Their fate had not been sealed just yet. 

Unlike that last game of 2013 against Ginebra, Gregorio and his team learned from their tough experience and wrote a happier ending to start their 2014, as they escaped Air21 in overtime, 92-88, on Saturday, January 4 in the PLDT myDSL Philippine Cup. 

“What an incredible test again, but this time we made sure that we were gonna come out on top,” said a visibly relieved Gregorio after the hard-fought game. “It was a scary game. I cannot deny that fact. Images of the Ginebra game were still vivid in our minds. I thought we had it in the bag against Ginebra then here we go again. It was really draining.”

With the Bolts up by 7, 77-70, with over a minute left to play in the fourth, Canaleta sank the first of his 3 clutch baskets from beyond the arc to cut the deficit to 77-73. A few seconds later, he drilled another one to make it only a one-point game, 77-76. 

He then attempted two more threes that missed before nailing one from the left corner to beat the buzzer and force the extra session, 79-all. 

In overtime, Gary David, who had been showing much of his ‘El Granada’ form all throughout, seemed to have filed their previous heartbreaking loss under distant nostalgia. He took control of the game and scored all-important baskets to push Meralco’s lead. David’s drive at the 1:08 mark in overtime shoved Meralco ahead for good, 87-84. 

David shot the lights out with 34 huge points on 4 triples and 9-of-19 shooting from the field. 

“I just told the players we’re gonna come out fighting, we’re gonna make the right decisions in the end,” Gregorio said. 

He also added that the game was a battle for survival for them. 

“We were just fighting for survival. In the huddle I just said the best survival instincts that you did when you were growing up to come out of poverty are exactly the same survival skills that you’re gonna need right now because we need to survive, we need to stay alive.”

‘Danny I’ is back

Meralco also immediately felt the positive impact of signing veteran bigman Danny Ildefonso. 

A long-time player for the Petron franchise even when it was still the San Miguel Beermen, Ildefonso provided the knockout punch for Meralco in the fourth and in overtime as he directed traffic and used his wealth of experience to help his new team avoid a meltdown. 

In his first game back with his new team, Ildefonso played 29 minutes and had 14 points, 6 boards, and 5 assists across his name. 

“It’s just an incredible feeling that the guy who probably was already left out helped us tremendously tonight. And that’s Danny Ildefonso,” Gregorio said of his new player. “In the end we just wanted to give the ball to the player who makes the right decisions.”

For Air21, it was Canaleta who went on a scoring binge, dropping 30 of his 32 points in the second half. 

The Express fought back from a 38-31 halftime deficit via a sterling 25-18 third quarter blast to pack some steam and a lot of confidence heading into the deciding period. They ran out of bailout shots, though, even as they dominated in second-chance points, 19-4. 

Meanwhile, the 40-year-old Asi Taulava also came up big for the Express. Taulava hung tough and showed how much of a trooper he still is by playing for 44 solid minutes and producing 15 points on top of collaring 26 rebounds. – Rappler.com