After back-to-back losses, the Meralco Bolts are suddenly the hottest team in the PBA after they won their third straight game on Sunday—a 78-76 escape act against the Magnolia Hotshots at the Ynares Center in Montalban.
What Happened?
Meralco seemingly picked up from where they left off in their win against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel on Friday, racing out to an 18-5 first quarter lead highlighted by an 11-0 blitz. But Magnolia grinded it out, crawling back little by little starting in the second quarter, where they cut a 25-7 Meralco lead to 32-25 going to halftime. The Hotshots continued their strong play in the third, outscoring the Bolts 26-21 to inch to within 53-51 entering the fourth. Next came a nip-and-tuck payoff period where Magnolia finally took their first lead, 72-71, before CJ Cansino scored six of Meralco’s final seven points to seal the hard-earned victory.
Who Stood Out?
Cansino was terrific once again for Meralco, this time putting up 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Crucially, he came up huge in the fourth, scoring 12 of his total and getting a big block on Jerom Lastimosa down the stretch. Aaron Black was impressive as well, firing 8 of his 17 points in the fourth just when Meralco needed points.
Over at the Magnolia side, Jerom Lastimosa showed out, top-scoring for Magnolia with 22 points—including 8 in the final quarter. He also assisted on two huge triples from Zavier Lucero, who had himself quite a fourth quarter where he scored 11 of his 14. He added 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 3 blocks.
3 Keys to the Game
- Free throws. In a game where neither team shot over 38% from the field, free throws proved to be the difference, with Meralco getting to the line 30 times and making 25. Magnolia, in contrast, got to the line 23 times and converted 19.
- Cansino-Black closing. With Chris Newsome out of sync and Allein Maliksi still unsteady, young guns Cansino and Aaron Black took turns carrying Meralco in the fourth quarter, just as the Hotshots were looking to steal the win. In total, Black and Cansino scored 20 of the Bolts’ final 25 points, with Cansino firing 6 of his 23 in the last three minutes.
- Dream start. Meralco’s 20-7 first quarter proved to be huge as it gave the Bolts a little bit of cushion when Magnolia started hitting its stride.
Next Up for the PBA
The PBA will be taking Season 50 to the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Wednesday with a doubleheader featuring the Terrafirma Dyip and Converge FiberXers in the first game and the Phoenix Fuel Masters and NLEX Road Warriors in the second game.
Terrafirma vs. Converge | Phoenix vs. NLEX
