IT DID not take long for Meralco to pop NorthPort's bubble.
With Akil Mitchell and Chris Banchero showing the way and with their defense holding up from the second period on the Bolts pulled off a 111-94 victory over the Batang Pier Tuesday in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Mitchell tallied 30 points and 13 rebounds and Banchero showed he has fully recovered from a hamstring tear he suffered prior to the mid-season tourney by setting a personal conference-high 25 points, on an efficient 10-of-15 shooting from the field, on top of rebounds and six assists.
"It was a really important game for us," said Banchero after helping Meralco improve to a 6-3 record that put it alongside Hong Kong Eastern, Converge and Barangay Ginebra at third-running spot.
"I was really excited to play NorthPort tonight because they were playing the best in this conference," added Banchero. "So I really wanted to see where we were at as a team and I thought we responded well tonight and, yeah, we did a very good job."
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The loss was only the second in nine games for NorthPort and it still remained at the top. But this one should hurt a lot since it came on the heels of its 119-116 squeaker over Ginebra just last week.
Biggest difference was the Batang Pier's failure to solve Meralco's defense, resulting in the former finishing a game below the century mark for the first time in the conference.
For coach Luigi Trillo, the biggest factor was his Bolts, especially their relievers, preventing the Batang Pier from gaining any offensive rhythm. "I think today we played better defensively. This team can really score with top guys like (Joshua) Munzon, (Arvin) Tolentino, (William) Navarro," he said.
"Their import is also a perfect fit for them. I thought our bench, all around, coming out... even our bigs, Norbert (Torres), Kyle (Pascual), Raymond (Almazan) helping Brandon (Bates). Quality from them coming in," added Trillo.
Kadeem Jack led NorthPort with 29 points and 14 rebounds, but Tolentino fell some six points below his conference average with 19 points he reached mainly on 10-of-14 free throw shooting as he made only four of 11 shots from the field.
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Munzon and Navarro also finished in double digits with at least 11 points each, but the team missed its first 11 three-point shots before making three of their last five. In total, the Batang Pier shot 28-of-70 from the field compared to the Bolts' 41-of-91 clip, including 11-of-31 from beyond the arc.
Despite its struggles, NorthPort still managed to string up seven points to claw back to within 80-90. But Mitchell was quick to quash the threat with five straight points and his teammates followed suit that stretched the difference to a high of 109-87. (NC)
The Scores :
MERALCO 111 - Mitchell 30, Banchero 25, Newsome 15, Quinto 8, Rios 8, Cansino 7, Mendoza 6, Caram 5, Almazan 4, Reyson 2, Pascual 1, Bates 0, Hodge 0, Torres 0.
NORTHPORT 94 - Jack 29, Tolentino 19, Munzon 12, Navarro 11, Nelle 8, Onwubere 7, Miranda 5, Yu 3, Flores 0, Bulanadi 0, Taha 0, Cuntapay 0, Tratter 0.
QUARTERS : 24-21, 54-44, 82-69, 111-94
