Meralco looks for a follow-up to its maiden win while Barangay Ginebra tries to bounce back from a loss as the old rivals clash in the mainer of a Sunday bill in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Bolts sprang back from a losing conference debut against the Blackwater Elite and broke into the win-column with a 101-92 mangling of the Columbian Dyip Friday at the Big Dome.
On the same play date, the Gin Kings opened their title defense and dropped a 107-108 heartbreaker in overtime opposite the Elite.
With just a day breather, the Bolts and the Kings will be back in action, slugging it out at 6:45 p.m. in a duel of teams with a riveting rivalry in the Governors Cup featuring imports Justin Brownlee and Allen Durham.
In this tourney, Brownlee is in the saddle for Ginebra for the second straight year. Meralco, on the other hand, is now leaning on Gani Lawal.
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The Nigerian-American Meralco import is fresh from a 25-point, 27-rebounds performance that powered the Bolts past the Dyip.
Brownlee, the reigning Best Import in the tourney, flirted with a triple-double game with 44 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists against the Elite, but the Kings still came up short in the end of the OT duel.
The Bolts emerged triumphant Friday on Lawal's big game complemented by the solid support job of the Meralco locals.
Baser Amer, Trevis Jackson, Chris Newsome and Cliff Hodge each chipped in at least 10 points each, with Amer top scoring with 21.
"I was able to convince Gani he does have decent shooters so when he draws the double-team, triple team in the post, he can move the ball out and his teammates can help him win the game," said Meralco coach Norman Black.
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The Bolts barely lost their opening game against the Elite, 91-94 in OT.
"We lost a really tough game last time out in overtime. We even had the chance to win in regulation, we just couldn't make the shot. (But against the Dyip), we played a lot better offensively and defensively and played team ball and that helped us win the game," said Black. (SB)
