The Meralco Bolts lost an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter but still eked out a 116-114 victory over the erstwhile unbeaten Blackwater Bossing on Tuesday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo. The win is Meralco’s second straight as against a loss to open their PBA Governors’ Cup, while the defeat is Blackwater’s first after a 2-0 start.
What Happened?
Meralco and Blackwater went tit-for-tat in the opening frame, with Antonio Hester (10 points) and Kentrell Barkley (14 points) leading the way. At the end of one, the Bossing nudged ahead, 29-26. Hester added 14 more in the second to help the Bolts to a 61-57 halftime lead after outscoring the Bossing, 35-28, in the second frame.
As they did in their win against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, the Bolts opened the game up with a sterling third quarter, this time pouring in 37 big points while holding the Bossing to 24. Meralco looked on its way to a comfortable win after Chris Banchero’s third four-pointer of the second half extended the lead to 110-92 with 7:35 remaining. But Blackwater unleashed a 22-4 run over the next six minutes to tie the game up at 114.
The Bossing then had three chances to take the lead but missed each time, with the last—a missed forced shot from Barkley—leading into a Chris Newsome undergoal stab in transition. Blackwater had one final chance to either win it outright or send the game to OT, but RK Ilagan lost the ball and failed to get a shot up.
Who Stood Out?
Hester bullied his way to 24 first-half points and ended up with 25 on top of 12 rebounds and 3 assists. Banchero added 16 off the bench highlighted by three four-pointers, all in the second half. He also had 3 rebounds and 4 assists. Newsome, who hit the winning shot, tallied 16 as well, with 3 rebounds and 4 assists, too.
Sedrick Barefield led the way for Blackwater and actually starred in its late-game comeback en route to a game-high 29 points. Barkley added 28 markers on top of 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Ilagan, despite his endgame mistake, fired 20 to go along with 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
3 Keys to the Game
- Third-quarter storm. For the second straight game, Meralco established a double-digit lead with a spectacular effort in the third quarter. The Bolts did it all after halftime, hitting threes and fours, getting to the basket, and making it hard for Blackwater to score. It turns out, Hester and company needed every bit of that cushion they built in the third to hold off the Bossing.
- Execution. For most of the game, Meralco executed with precision, moving the ball around and finding the open man. That ball movement resulted in a 32-14 advantage in assists and no doubt contributed to the Bolts shooting 56.0% (as opposed to 47.4% for the Bossing).
- Bench play. In their two wins, the Bossing got considerable contributions from their second stringers. This wasn’t the case on Tuesday, as Blackwater’s bench scored just 21 points to the 41 fired by their Meralco counterparts.
Next Up for the PBA
Wednesday, July 22, 2026 | Ynares Center – Antipolo
- TNT Tropang 5G vs. Titan Ultra Giant Risers (5:15 p.m.)
- Converge FiberXers vs. San Miguel Beermen (7:30 p.m.)
