MERALCO readily pounced on another bad stroke of luck that hobbled NorthPort to fashion a 114-104 win Saturday and get back on track in the PBA Governors' Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Allen Durham tallied 23 points and 13 rebounds in just three quarters of action while Chris Banchero and Chris Newsome provided the leadership down the stretch that enabled the Bolts to hold the Batang Pier at bay.
The win bounced Meralco back from a 99-108 defeat to TNT just two nights ago while jacking its Group A record to 6-2, which is enough to book a ticket to the quarterfinals at the end of the 10-game intragroup format.
Winning coach Luigi Trillo said his team would probably use its remaining elimination round games against Converge and Terrafirma as part of their preparations for the last eight.
"At this point we want to get playoff-ready. At the start of the season we didn't get any tuneup games. We got limited practice so parang now we need to win but we also need to get ready," stated Trillo.
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"For us, we probably want to use these next two games as building blocks moving into the playoffs. But it's hard to find that level of intensity dahil you're already in. So we have to manage that."
The loss, its second straight, dropped NorthPort to a 3-5 slate and left it in a must-win situation against Magnolia and TNT to enhance its chances of advancing.
The loss of Venky Jois with just a little over three minutes left in the opening period clearly told on the Batang Pier's bid.
Jois hurt his right foot either while going for a twisting layup or an offensive rebound against Durham. He fell on the court clutching his leg and was carried off the court on a stretcher before being immediately rushed to a hospital for X-rays.
The absence of its main rebounder left a gaping void on NorthPort's bid as it was consistently beaten off the boards, particularly on the offensive glass, and outmuscled inside by Meralco for the remainder of the game.
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The Bolts finished with 31 offensive rebounds, almost matching their 32 caroms on the defensive end, leading to a plus-18 advantage in second chance points and a whopping plus-34 in total boards.
Still, it took a triple each by Banchero and Newsome before NorthPort's threat was fully quashed, coming as they did after the Batang Pier whittled a 63-77 deficit and came within 97-105.
Newsome backstopped Durham with 20 points and 11 rebounds while Banchero added 19 markers. Rookie CJ Cansino chipped in 12 points and was a big factor in helping Meralco take control with two four-pointers in the opening quarter.
Arvin Tolentino's 28 points led all scorers with Joshua Munzon contributing 17. (NC)
The Scores :
MERALCO 114 - Durham 23, Newsome 20, Banchero 19, Cansino 12, Bates 12, Caram 10, Quinto 7, Almazan 6, Hodge 5, Pascual 0, Mendoza 0, Torres 0, Jose 0.
NORTHPORT 104 - Tolentino 28, Munzon 17, Cuntapay 12, Navarro 11, Yu 9, Flores 9, Amores 7, Jois 4, Bulanadi 4, Jalalon 3, Tratter 0, Onwubere 0, Nelle 0, Taha 0.
QUARTERS: 41-37, 67-59, 89-80, 114-104
