MERALCO tries to keep its unbeaten run while Blackwater seeks to snap out of a three-game funk as they slug it out in the PBA Commissioner's Cup Thursday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
Perfect in three starts, the Bolts look to get going and catch up with the NorthPort Batang Pier at 4-0 as they set out for their 7:30 p.m. tiff with the Blackwater side aching to come out of the rut.
Coach Luigi Trillo and his troops went 2-0 with Akil Mitchell then made it three in a row with DJ Kennedy as Mitchell was rested in their last outing due to a broken nose. The Bolts have no chemistry issue with either of the two since both are with them in their EASL campaign.
The Bolts have been pretty steady and competitive from their All-Filipino title run to their No. 2 finish in their group in the Governors' Cup elims and to their 3-0 start here coming at the expense of Phoenix Super LPG, Rain or Shine and Terrafirma.
The same can't be said of the Blackwater Bossing.
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Coach Jeff Cariaso's chargers were mangled by the Magnolia Hotshots, 118-100, then reeled to a 107-95 defeat at the hands of the NLEX Road Warriors.
They showed good promise in racing to a 10-point lead at the half versus Eastern Tuesday but then returned flat from the halftime break and went down to an 84-75 loss.
George King fired 41 points but just 10 in their second-half downfall.
Kennedy, meanwhile, banged in 32 points in his PBA debut, 19 in the penultimate period to help Meralco seize a 16-point tear. He then added 10 in the closeout and dished out a crucial assist to Jansen Rios for the booming triple that restored a 94-91 cushion for the Bolts after the Dyip caught up at 91-91.
A win is a win, but Trillo rued the Bolts' finish.
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"We're not happy with the way we executed. We had it in the bag and in the last three minutes, we let them back into the game. It's good that Jansen hit that three," he said.
The near slip, however, could be Meralco's talking point going to their game against the Bossing. (SB)
