MANILA: Things fell in place on both ends for Meralco on Monday night, as the Bolts dealt Alaska the same beating the Aces handed out just two nights before.
And the timing of an 86-70 Game 4 win couldn’t have come at a more perfect time, as the Bolts forged a do-or-die game for the second title series slot in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
“Basically, this game is basically just about trying to live another day,” Meralco coach Norman Black said. “We really got back to basics as far as our defense is concerned.”
Black didn’t mention that his Bolts were a far better offensive team than they were in a 92-71 Game 3 loss, with Jared Dillinger again taking a lot of the scoring bulk while scoring the basket of the night that helped Meralco break away.
With the score at 54-52 after a searing run by the Aces, the Bolts had one short blitz that dictated how the rest of the game would go, with Dillinger capping an 8-0 run with a desperation three-pointer from the other free throw line that beat the buzzer for 62-52 heading into the fourth.
Meralco then opened up with a 15-4 tear in the fourth and led by as large as 21, totally taking the fight out of the Aces who will come into Game 5 licking the wounds of this lopsided defeat.
The rubber match is set at 7 p.m. on Wednesday and Black, a multi-titled coach who won a Grand Slam with San Miguel Beer in 1989, knows just what his Bolts should have in mind – and heart – when that game comes.
“We need to stay hungry,” Black went on. “Now that we’re here, we’ll try to win Game 5. At this point in the season, why worry about what happened before.”
Import Arinze Onuaku was a dominating presence inside, grabbing 16 rebounds and swatting away five enemy attempts that went with 16 points even as Cliff Hodge and Brian Faundo combined for 26.
Black had rued the lack of effort that resulted in that ugly Game 3 loss.
“We basically died out in the second half of Game 3,” Black said after moving Meralco within another win of the franchise’s first title series appearance.
Awaiting the winner of this series is Rain or Shine, the 3-1 winner over No. 1 San Miguel Beer.
With the Meralco-Alaska series going the full route, Rain or Shine would get another two days of extra rest with Game 1 of the best-of-seven title series set to start on Friday.
Chris Newsome, the rookie point guard out of Ateneo, scored all of his seven points inside the telling Meralco run even as Rob Dozier led the Aces with 18 points and 15 rebounds.
The other heavy hitters for Alaska were silent for most of the night, with Calvin Abueva, the leading candidate for the Best Player of the Conference award, shooting just 10 after being rested extensively in the second period.
RJ Jazul also had 10 points for the Aces.
Meralco drags Alaska to Game 5 after 86-70 victory
Meralco drags Alaska to Game 5 after 86-70 victory
