ZACH Lofton may just have made a very good case for himself to stay on as Meralco's permanent import by dropping 54 points in a 125-99 win over NorthPort Sunday in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the PhilSports Arena.
Tapped to stand in as a temporary replacement for the injured Su Braimoh, Lofton dazzled with a variety of offensive moves that sparked the Bolts' decisive second half breakaway and led them to a third straight win that boosted their record to 5-1.
"I wanted to step into the team and be the force that he was," said Lofton, referring Braimoh.
"The team, they believed in me, they helped me get my shots and ultimately I wanted to help get the win and we did."
Lofton's output, anchored on nine triples, was the most in a PBA debut since Blackwater's Troy Williams poured in 55 in last season's Governors' Cup.
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The one-time Detroit Piston could have shattered that mark and even inched closer to the 87 posted by Swift's Tony Harris in the 1992 PBA Third Conference but was benched for good in the last seven minutes of the game when Meralco was comfortably ahead, 111-74.
Following Lofton's amazing performance, Meralco coach Luigi Trillo admitted they may have to re-think their original plan of having Lofton, previously hired to reinforce in the EASL, step in only as a temporary replacement import.
"We said two games but with the way he's playing, the option's open. He opened the door," said Trillo. "I'm glad, I'm happy we have him now. Obviously, we'll have to talk with our coaching staff about how we move forward from this. But when you're rolling, you're rolling. You stay with it."
The loss in its third game in five days snapped NorthPort's three-game winning run and dropped it to a 5-3 slate, with such an outcome practically inevitable after Lofton scored 20 of his points in a 43-16 third quarter rampage that made it a 92-64 difference.
Rookie Fran Yu delivered a career-high 31 points and Arvin Tolentino 25, but Venky Jois was far from his usual self, due to a hamstring injury, as he only wound up with nine points and as many rebounds.
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In his first game back from a nasal fracture, Allein Maliksi scored 18 points with his charity split pegging Meralco's biggest lead at 112-74.
Chris Newsome and Raymond Almazan netted 11 points each with the latter adding 15 rebounds. Rookie Brandon Bates scored only six points but hauled down 11 boards and swatted away five shots. (NC)
The scores:
Meralco 125 - Lofton 54, Maliksi 18, Newsome 11, Almazan 11, Banchero 8, Quinto 8, Bates 6, Dario 2, Pasaol 2, Hodge 2, Torres 0, Pascual 0, Rios 0.
NorthPort 99 - Yu 31, Tolentino 25, Calma 10, Jois 9, Paraiso 8, Amores 5, Munzon 5, Chan 2, Caperal 2, Ayaay 2, Taha 0, Salado 0, Flores 0.
Quarters: 16-25, 49-48, 92-64, 125-99.
