MANILA, Philippines – Tony Bishop churned out a monster double-double to electrify Meralco to a gritty 83-80 win over TNT in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, December 22.

Bishop delivered game-highs of 36 points and 17 rebounds as the Bolts won their first two games to start the conference by holding off a pesky Tropang Giga crew that almost sent the game into overtime.

Meralco padded its lead to 6 points, 82-76, with less than two minutes left off 5 straight points from Bishop and a free throw by Cliff Hodge, before TNT got to within a single possession behind 4 consecutive points from Jayson Castro and Mikey Williams.

Fortunately for the Bolts, Chris Newsome sank the second of his two foul shots to give his side a three-point cushion, and Kelly Williams missed the potential game-trying triple for the Tropang Giga as the final buzzer sounded.

Newsome posted 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists, while Allen Maliksi came off the bench and produced 10 points in the win.

Big man Raymond Almazan made his presence felt for Meralco with 5 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

Roger Pogoy dazzled for TNT with 25 points and 12 rebounds, although severe cramps prevented him from seeing action down the stretch.

Pogoy – who played for 41 minutes – went for a drive with a minute left but an awkward landing triggered his cramps, forcing him to sit out the rest of the game.

M. Williams backstopped Pogoy with 24 points and Castro netted 16 points for the Tropang Giga, who slid to 1-2.

While Bishop impressed, his TNT counterpart McKenzie Moore struggled and finished with just 4 points on a 2-of-9 clip from the field to go with 7 rebounds.

The Scores

Meralco 83 – Bishop 36, Newsome 15, Maliksi 10, Caram 7, Hodge 6, Almazan 5, Quinto 3, Black 1, Pinto 0, Belo 0.

TNT 80 – Pogoy 25, M. Williams 24, Castro 16, Moore 4, Erram 4, K. Williams 3, Marcelo 2, Banal 2, Heruela 0, Reyes 0, Khobuntin 0. 

Quarters: 21-18, 44-35, 63-58, 83-80.

– Rappler.com