MANILA, Philippines – Meralco survived Matthew Wright’s scoring spree in overtime to eke out a 103-100 win against Phoenix in the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Araneta Coliseum on Friday, June 8.

KG Cañaleta fired 30 points and Arinze Onuaku submitted a triple-double of 12 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists as the Bolts clamped down on Wright – who scored the Fuel Masters’ first 8 overtime points – in the final minute of the thriller. 

Phoenix trailed by just a whisker with less than a minute left in overtime, 100-101, and had a chance to take the lead after a Cañaleta miss but Wright muffed his midrage jumper with 4 seconds remaining.

Fouled in the next possession, Cliff Hodge, who did not score a single point throughout, displayed immense composure and buried the free throws that gave the Bolts a 3-point cushion and their 5th win in 7 outings. 

Baser Amer chipped in 19 points, 3 rebounds, two assists and two steals in the win. 

“Well, I told the players before the game that this will be a tough game for us mainly because Phoenix has been playing very good basketball and they never seem to quit. They’re always competitive and we got exactly what we expected tonight,” said Meralco head coach Norman Black.

As the Bolts held a 90-87 leading following a Amer triple and Jared Dillinger sent to the foul line, it looked like all hope was lost for the Fuel Masters until Dillinger missed both his freebies with 12 seconds remaining in regulation. 

Just like several times, Wright pulled through for Phoenix down the clutch as he drilled in a tough triple with 4.2 seconds left and blocked Chris Newsome’s potential game-winning jumper at the buzzer to forge overtime. 

Wright saw his 28 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds go for naught as Phoenix fell to a 3-4 card.

Eugene Phelps had 31 points, 26 rebounds and 4 assists for the Fuel Master but he was limited to a measly 3-point total in the 4th quarter and overtime combined. Jason Perkins chalked up 23 points and 8 rebounds in the loss. 

The Scores:

Meralco (103): Canaleta 30, Amer 19, Onuaku 12, Newsome 11, Dillinger 8, Caram 7, De Ocampo 5, Lanete 5, Hugnatan 4, Hodge 2 

Phoenix (100): Phelps 32, Wright 28, Perkins 23, Chan 9, Revilla 3, Jazul 3, Chua 2, Intal 1, Wilson 0, Kramer 0, Mendoza 0

Quarter scores: 20-18, 52-44, 68-72, 90-90, 103-100 (OT) – Rappler.com