KG CANALETA was quick to churn out an electrifying performance in his Meralco debut.
The 12-year veteran scattered a game-high 25 points and eight rebounds while keying the Bolts' 103-98 victory over the Blackwater Elite Friday in a game kicking off their PBA Philippine Cup campaign at the Cuneta Astrodome.
Jared Dillinger and Baser Amer also delivered sterling performances as Meralco started out on the right foot in its quest to follow up its runner-up finish in the last Governors Cup and bounce back from an 11th place finish in the all-Filipino tournament last season.
Still, it was Canaleta who made possible the win, capping his performance with a shotclock-beating triple that stopped Blackwater's uprising dead on its tracks.
Behind Allein Maliksi, Poy Erram, Roi Sumang and Raymar Jose the Elite came charging back from a 19-point deficit and pulled within 95-98, still 33 ticks left.
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Canaleta was quickly sent back in and he promptly delivered the killing blow with his shot taken from about four feet beyond the arc.
For good measure, the 35-year-old, who is on his 11th team in a pro career that started when he was made the No. 6 overall pick of Air21 in the 2005 draft, canned two charities following a Maliksi trey that iced the game.
"I'd like to make special mention to KG, who I thought was exceptional tonight scoring, rebounding,"said Black, who signed up Canaleta along with Mac Baracael and Jason Ballesteros to make up for the continued absence of the injured Ranidel de Ocampo (calf) and Cliff Hodge (bone spurs surgery).
"He's going to be a very good addition for our team," added Black, who also drew 17 points and 12 assists from Amer and 15 points and 11 rebounds from Dillinger. Ballesteros also hauled down 12 boards.
The loss was a stinging one for Blackwater, which got off to a good start and led by as many as 12 points but could not keep up when Meralco stepped up the pace from late in the second quarter on.
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The Bolts' initial crucial surge came in the third quarter, where Canaleta scored nine of his points and Dillinger seven of his.
With Amer, Reynel Hugnatan and Chris Newsome chipping in and Blackwater going 0-for-7 from the field and committing three turnovers, Meralco unleashed a monster 19-0 run that put it on top for good, 69-54.
It sure looked like Blackwater was completely done for when Canaleta strung up five points to cap a 10-0 surge that gave Meralco an 87-69 spread, but it turned out the Elite had one last fight left in their tank.
The scores:
MERALCO 103 - Canaleta 25, Amer 17, Dillinger 15, Newsome 12, Lanete 8, Ballesteros 6, Tolomia 6, Baracael 5, Faundo 4, Hugnatan 3, Caram 2, Salva 0.
BLACKWATER 98 - Jose 16, Maliksi 16, Sumang 15, Belo 13, Erram 11, Cortez 8, Digregorio 6, Javier 6, Sena 4, Pinto 3, Banal 0, Cruz 0, Marcelo 0.
Quarters: 23-27, 44-44, 66-77, 103-98.
