PBA: Meralco finally nails first win as Cortez returns

MANILA, Philippines – Finally, coach Ryan Gregorio and his Meralco Bolts can exhale a little.  

After losing their first 4 games, the Bolts finally had a breakthrough in their 5th outing as they escaped from the Alaska Aces, 88-87, to break into the win column of the 2014 PLDT Home Telpad PBA Governors’ Cup on Sunday, June 1 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.  

It was a hard-earned win for the Bolts who barely even got away with it as the Aces clung on to them until the very end.  

Alaska had a chance to win it in the final possession after import Henry Walker nailed a wide open three-pointer from the top of the key to make it just a one-point game, 88-87, with 10.7 ticks remaining.  

And instead of closing out, the Bolts fumbled the ball on the inbound twice and eventually turned it over completely with the ball bouncing off of Gary David’s chest with 8 seconds left.  

A wide open window of opportunity for Alaska was slammed shut as they ran out of time in the potential game-winning possession with Dondon Hontiveros making one pass too many to Walker, who chucked the ball from beyond the arc as time expired.  

“It’s been a trying conference for us, when one player becomes healthy the other one goes down,” Gregorio said, noting that Jared Dillinger is still having problems with his back.  

Gregorio won this game with a 9-player rotation.  

“But what we’re really showing is our resilience, courage under pressure, courage in pain, courage in adversity. In one word we call it fortitude. 

“The purpose really (for this game) is nothing else but to stay alive. I think with this win we were able to make ourselves relevant again in this conference.”

Gregorio, who has previously lamented the injuries that have plagued his players, also breathed a sigh of relief as point guard Mike Cortez returned to action after a 5-month absence due to an MCL injury in his right knee. 

It was an explosive comeback for the 33-year old former De La Salle Green Archer, pouring in 19 points on 4-of-8 three-point shooting from deep and with 5 assists to boot.  

“It’s just like rain in the middle of the desert to have somebody like Mike, who was able to bail us out in tonight’s game,” an elated Gregorio credits the Bolts’ win to Cortez. “He is the biggest difference and I hope he becomes healthy and stays healthy and keeps on playing the game for us because we will always have an increased chance of winning  every time he’s inside.” 

“The past months I’ve been out, it was just so frustrating,” Cortez described what it is has been like for him to watch from the sidelines for a whole conference.  

“I have been dying and itching to get back. I was working so hard after my injury, doing rehab just to get back to play. And I just had fun tonight. I had so much fun playing.” 

Meralco was in the driver’s seat for most of the contest as Alaska simply hung around, waiting for the perfect opportunity to pull the trigger.  

The Bolts took a 44-38 halftime edge before a Cyrus Baguio (9 points) trey knotted the count at 58-all with 3:48 left in the third. But the very hungry Bolts maintained their composure and scored baskets on the other end to stay ahead. 

The trend continued in the fourth until Walker, who tallied 25 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists for Meralco, tied the game again at 77 on a nifty post-up move against Mario West with 6:05 to go.  

Calvin Abueva, who was aggressive all game and had 17 points, gave the Aces the lead, 79-77, nearing the 5-minute mark with his two charities. 

Though Reynel Hugnatan (16 points) then mounted a solo 5-point swing with points collected mostly from the stripe to push Meralco ahead, 82-79, with 2:47 left. 

“I want people to see how we handle adversity,” Gregorio said. “We were rewarded with a victory simply because we know how to handle adversity.”

Alaska, who went down to 2-3, was in foul trouble for much of this game with a team total of 33 fouls, sending the Bolts to the line. Though they didn’t do a particularly good job of taking advantage of those freebies as they went 19-of-36. 

West led the Bolts with 21 markers and 9 rebounds while Cliff Hodge added 20 points and 12 rebounds. 

Hodge was also responsible for saving crucial possessions for the Bolts towards the end.  

Scores

Meralco 88 – West 21, Hodge 20, Cortez 19, Hugnatan 16, Guevarra 9, David 3, Bringas 0, Caram 0, Sena 0.

Alaska 87 – Walker 25, Abueva 17, Casio 15, Espinas 13, Baguio 9, Jazul 3, Hontiveros 3, Manuel 2, Belasco 0, Dela Cruz 0, Thoss 0.

Quarter scores: 21-20, 44-38, 66-64, 88-87.  

– Rappler.com