Bolts hold off Energy, grab share of top seed

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Josh Davis looked fully recuperated from his hip injury while Reynel Hugnatan had his best game of the 2015 PBA Commissioner’s Cup, as the Meralco Bolts halted their two-game losing streak and grabbed share of the top spot in the league standings with a 98-85 win over the Barako Bull Energy on Friday, March 13, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Hugnatan finished with a conference-best 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting in addition to 6 rebounds to spearhead the Bolts locals, while Davis was back to his high-energy play and registered 32 points to go with 19 rebounds.

Gary David continued his impressive play despite being out of action for two weeks in lieu of the league’s All-Star Wekeend, finishing with 14 points that was punctuated by his game-sealing 3-pointer with two minutes remaining in the game.

“Gary David got hot in the second half and he helped us pull the game out,” his head coach, Norman Black, said following the contest.

“I want to give credit to Reynel Hugnatan who had a big game for us offensively,” Black said about his big man, who scored a career-high 28 points when Meralco faced Barako Bull last conference. “I think one of the main reasons why he played really well today is because we shared the basketball.”

The Bolts finished with 19 assists and shot a superb 50% from the field, despite going just 3-of-13 from downtown. Fortunately for Black, two of those triples came at very crucial stretches for his team.

Led by by former Ateneo Blue Eagles star Nico Salva, the Energy stormed back from a double-digit second half deficit and was within 7, 84-77, with 4 minutes to go.

A hook shot in the paint by Davis extended his team’s edge back up to nine, but free throws and a baseline midrange jumper by Salva, who scored all of his 10 points in the final period, trimmed his club’s deficit down to 5, 86-81, with 3 minutes to go.

A few plays later, an offensive possession for the Bolts went haywire as the Energy’s defense cut off driving lanes and closed out on shooters. This led to Hugnatan having to take an off-balanced right-corner 3-ball, which luckily for his squad, hit nothing but net.

After getting a stop on defense, Meralco handed the ball to a curling David who used a screen to get open and sink the dagger of the ballgame.

“It’s nice to have Josh Davis back a hundred percent,” Black said about his import, who sustained a severe left hip contusion just before the All-Star break in a loss to the San Miguel Beermen. Despite not yet recovering, Davis still opted to play in his team’s next contest – a loss to the NLEX Road Warriors where he fouled out.

His teammate Jared Dillinger, who had 4 points on Friday, said that the recent arrival of Davis’ girlfriend has helped made things easier for the Bolts import.

“It’s great,” Davis said post-game about having her around. “It inspires me.”

“Josh Davis is a pretty good player,” Black said about his rebounding machine. “He’s not a great offensive player… but he brings a lot of energy to the table, he makes us a better defensive team.”

Meralco, now 6-2 and tied with the Talk ’N Text Tropang Texters, will look to close out their campaign strong with remaining games against the Alaska Aces, Purefoods Hotshots, and Blackwater Elite.

“It just gets more difficult; we get Alaska and Purefoods back to back,” Black said.

If the eliminations ends with the Bolts and TNT still tied, the former would get the tiebreaker owing to their head-to-head win.

Barako Bull entered Friday’s game at 4-4 and with the fourth seed in the league standings, but now falls to a tie with KIA at the no. nine seed thanks to the loss. The Energy has remaining matches against Purefoods and NLEX.

Barako’s JC Intal finished with 10 points and 7 boards but struggled from the field, shooting just 5-of-16. Chico Lanete raced off to a strong first half, but slowed down in the final two quarters and registered 13 points.

Team import Solomon Alabi had just 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting and 12 rebounds.

Scores:

Meralco (98): Davis 32, Hugnatan 21, David 14, Hodge 8, Wilson 7, Dillinger 4, Ferriols 4, Cortez 4, Ildefonso 2, Caram 2, Reyes 0, Buenafe 0, Anthony 0, Sena 0, Macapagal 0

Barako Bull (85): Alabi 14, Hubalde 13, Lanete 13, Intal 10, Salva 10, Lastimosa 7, Garcia 6, Pascual 6, Marcelo 2, Matias 2, Chua 0, Mercado 0, Salvador 0, Paredes 0, Sorongon 0

Quarter Scoring: 24-20, 49-38, 70-61, 98-85

– Rappler.com