Friday’s PBA Commissioner’s Cup double-header at the Ynares Center in Antipolo featured two teams going in different directions, a champion making its debut, and a squad looking to bounce back.
Read up to know what happened:
Meralco Escapes Terrafirma to Stay Unbeaten
Reserve forward Brandon Rios made the most of his extended playing time on Friday, burying the go-ahead triple in the Meralco Bolt’s 96-91 escape act against the still winless Terrafirma Dyip.
Meralco needed every one of Rios’s 11 total points—including his endgame triple—as Terrafirma played arguably its best game of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup. The Dyip hung tough throughout, even as the Bolts built a 69-61 advantage after three quarters.
The rejuvenated Vic Manuel scored 13 for the Dyip, including two high-pressure freebies with under a minute left to tie the game at 91 apiece. Brandon Edwards and Brent Paraiso chipped in 21 and 20, respectively. DJ Kennedy, who replaced the injured Akil Mitchell, scored a game-high 32 points, grabbed 6 boards, and dished out 4 assists. Chris Newsome and Raymond Almazan had 15 each.
With the win, Meralco grabbed a share of first place in the standings at 3-0. Terrafirma dropped to 0-4.
The Scores:
- Meralco 96 – Kennedy 32, Newsome 15, Almazan 15, Rios 11, Caram 7, Pascual 6, Quinto 4, Hodge 3, Pasaol 2, Black 1
- Terrafirma 91 – Edwards 21, Paraiso 20, Manuel 13, Sangalang 10, Melecio 9, Pringle 6, Olivario 5, Catapusan 2, Nonoy 2, Ramos 2, Ferrer 1
Eastern Frustrates TNT with 21-Point Beatdown
Humbled in their last game against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, guest team Hong Kong Eastern got back on the winning track immediately, dealing the TNT Tropang Giga a 105-84 beating.
Eastern and TNT played to a draw, 47-47, after two quarters with the imports—Cameron Clark and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson—doing the heavy lifting. The Hong Kong-based squad, however, stepped on the gas starting in the third, which it ended with a 73-63 cushion. Eastern were not to be denied, extending the lead in the fourth to notch their third win against a loss.
Clark led the way for Eastern with 36 points and 14 rebounds, while Hayden Blankley added 24 points and 10 rebounds. Glen Yan, who missed Eastern’s game against Rain or Shine, chipped in 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists. Hollis-Jefferson had 33 points and 7 boards but got little help from the Tropa.
Eastern is now at solo second in the standings with a 3-1 record.
The Scores:
- Eastern (105) – Clark 36, Blankely 24, Yang 19, Cao 17, Cheung 3, Lam 3, Xu 2, Zhu 1
- TNT (84) – Hollis-Jefferson 33, Aurin 12, Pogoy 9, Oftana 7, Exciminiano 4, Ebona 4, Erram 4, Galinato 3, Razon 2, Nambatac 2
The PBA Commissioner’s Cup Goes to Antipolo Again
The PBA Commissioner’s Cup continues on Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo. TNT and the Northport Batang Pier face off in the first game, while the NLEX Road Warriors and San Miguel Beermen go at it in the second game.
