PBA: Salvacion hits game-winning three to lift Meralco past GlobalPort

Down by only four with 40 seconds remaining, a steal by Meralco gave Mark Cardona two points from the line, bringing the deficit down to two, 89-87, with 36 seconds remaining. Sol Mercado would melt the clock, but the ensuing play saw Jaypee Belencion missing a three, giving Meralco 9.5 seconds to tie or win the game. Chris Ross then drove to the lane, before passing to Cardona. Losing space in the paint, Cardona passed it off to Salvacion, who banked in a three to win the game. "That's what veterans do," said Meralco head coach Ryan Gregorio. "They come in and play. It was a fantastic shot by Sunday." This was the first game Salvacion played this conference and he responded to the opportunity by leading the team in scoring and making the game-winning shot. All in all, he totaled 20 points in only 25 minutes, and keyed in Meralco's comeback from a 17-point deficit in the second quarter, where he scored nine points. Then in the fourth quarter, he again exploded for eight points including the game-winner. "It was definitely a broken play but that's why you have veterans in your team," said Gregorio. "We really wanted Macmac to take the shot but I told him that if he got into trouble, there will be a back pass available for him." A jumper from Gary David gave GlobalPort a 7-5 lead early into the game. They then forced a turnover that led to Sol Mercado throwing a dish off the backboard which was converted into a two-handed dunk from Japeth Aguilar. Moments later, it was Meralco's turn to make the crowd happy with an alley-oop dunk from Chris Ross to Cliff Hodge. Five straight points from David stretched the GlobalPort lead to four at 17-13. Willie Miller then came off the bench to complete an and-one basket at the 2:10 mark of the first, which was closely followed by an Aguilar jumper. After Vic Manuel cut the GlobalPort lead to five at 22-17, Miller scored right before the buzzer sounded for a 24-17 advantage heading into the second quarter. The game turned into a shootout in the second as the two teams both got hot from beyond the arc. Miller and Jaypee Belencion combined for GlobalPort's first 22 points of the quarter, as they together notched  five three-point conversions. The hot-shooting duo gave Batang Pier a 46-39 lead, but the Meralco Bolts fought back in the latter part of the quarter. Sunday Salvacion heated up and made three triples to spearhead a 14-0 run to cut the GlobalPort lead down to just three, 46-43. However, Aguilar found David cutting to the basket for a lay-up just as the buzzer sounded to tab their halftime lead to five. In the first half, Miller already scored 16 points, equaling his output in their first four games. Belencion and David added 11 points each while Aguilar added seven points and five rebounds. Largely absent was import Justin Williams who only had a single point to show for. The Bolts on the other hand were led by Salvacion with nine points at the break, even if he only played four minutes in the game. GlobalPort went into the third quarter trying to re-establish their big second period lead. A lay-up from Mercado upped their lead to eight at 53-45. The Bolts finally scored in the third quarter after another Salvacion three at the 8:55 mark, but David took it right back with his own three. Aguilar then turned a missed lay-up by Mercado into a put-back dunk for a 58-52 lead, but the Bolts got a 6-0 run punctuated by a Hodge slam at the 4:59 mark to tie the ballgame. Three free throws then from David and a lay-up from Mercado gave Batang Pier a 63-58 lead with less than four minutes remaining in the third. Williams finally got his first field goal of the game with a short lay-in at the 2:29 mark of the third for a 65-62 GlobalPort lead. A Reynel Hugnatan jumper tied the ball game at 66-all, but Belencion broke the tie on the next possession with a free throw. Another three-point barrage started the fourth quarter for the Batang Pier. This time, it was Belencion and David who combined for three straight triples to build an 80-68 lead, but a basket from Hodge and a tear drop from Cardona eventually trimmed the GlobalPort lead down to two. Yet another three-point shot from Miller gave GlobalPort a double-digit lead at 83-72. However, they were whistled for their fifth team foul at the 5:30 mark, which resulted in two free throws from Eric Dawson. A Mac Cardona triple at the 4:02 mark sliced the GlobalPort lead down to seven at 85-77, but an Aguilar jumper bumped it back up to 10. Dawson and Salvacion then scored on back-to-back baskets for Meralco for an 87-81 count in favor of GlobalPort with 2:59 left in the game. A triple from Salvacion at the 1:33 mark further reduced the lead down to four at 89-85.  After completing a stop on the other end, the Bolts inched closer thanks to two Cardona free throws. "We need situations like this to make the team closer. We need games like this to make us love each other," Gregorio said after the game. "We were down big but somehow we found a way to win." This was another painful loss to swallow for GlobalPort, who had command of the game late in the fourth quarter. They just could not make the key stops and baskets down the stretch to get the win. In what was touted to be his statement game after being traded, Mercado struggled from the field, making only 3-of-14 shots. Instead, it was another former Meralco player in Belencion who had a career ball game. Although they got good games from Gary David and Willie Miller, GlobalPort got little offense from their import, as Williams only contributed five points, but he did get 13 rebounds and swat eight shots. - RAF/AMD, GMA News