PBA: Bolts ground Elasto Painters for second spot in standings

The Meralco Bolts completed key defensive stops in the endgame to emerge victorious against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 82-76, on Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena, in the 2013 PBA Governors Cup.

The Bolts' third straight win gave them solo second place in the standings at 4-2, behind the 5-1 Petron Blaze Boosters. The defending champs Rain or Shine Elasto Painters meanwhile evened their record at 3-3.

"We really dug deep to find ways to win," said Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio. "It was again a defensive struggle and that's the only way to win. We were able to reach our goal. Rain or Shine was limited to 80 points. We still want to continue to climb up the ladder with defense as our strongest armor."

With less than two minutes remaining on the clock, RoS import Arizona Reid scored in the shaded lane to make it a two-point game, 78-76, but his next attempt from beyond the arc failed to find its mark. Beau Belga ended up committing a loose ball foul, sending rookie Cliff Hodge to the line.

Hodge split the free throws, but Paul Lee missed a layup that could have brought the Elasto Painters closer. Free throws from John Wilson then sealed the deal for Meralco, as Hodge blocked a Jeff Chan layup attempt, while Reid missed another three.

John Wilson was the best player of the game with 18 points off a 5-of-7 shooting clip, plus five boards and three assists. Cliff Hodge and Bolts import Mario West added 17 markers apiece, plus a combined 11 rebounds and six steals.
 
It was a tight first quarter for the two squads, with Reynel Hugnatan knotting the game at 10-all at the 6:04 mark. TY Tang fed Arizona Reid on the break for the lead, but John Wilson responded at the other end with a trey.

Wilson carried Meralco down that stretch, pushing the lead to seven, 19-12, and forcing RoS to call for time. Five straight from Jireh Ibañes had the Elasto Painters inching closer, but a banker from Chris Ross was enough to cancel out free throws from Gabe Norwood and JR Quiñahan. Meralco barely held on to a 21-20 lead after one.

Free throws from Don Allado, followed by jumpers from Rey Guevarra and Chris Ross gave the Bolts a five-point lead as Rain or Shine continued to struggle from the floor. Points from the stripe from Mario West and Wilson, plus a put-back from Hodge had Meralco up 43-32 with 2:27 remaining, before Ibañes and Jervy Cruz strung four together to cut the deficit to eight.

In the final minute before the break, West split form the line, while Cruz converted on a layup for a 44-37 Meralco lead at the half.


A Chris Timberlake make early in the third bumped Meralco's lead up to 14, 53-39, but Ronnie Matias and JR Quiñahan conspired to keep RoS close, 54-46. A Quiñahan trey was followed by makes from TY Tang and Ibañes, as the Elasto Painters cut the lead to five, 60-55, with 3:06 to go. Hodge responded with a turnaround to stretch the lead, before taking a charge at the other end for his team.

Ibañes wasn't done, though, as he strung four more points together before West ended the third with Meralco still ahead, 66-59.

Hodge and Lee exchanged treys early in the fourth as Meralco continued to stay ahead, 74-68. Beau Belga was successful on the block, where he scored to cut the lead to four with less than six minutes left, as baskets from Reid and Jeff Chan made it a two-point game, 76-74, at the 4:10 mark.

Chris Ross lost the ball at the other end, but Belga missed an open three to keep the Bolts on top. Hugnatan then nailed an open jumper to give Meralco some breathing room, 78-74.

Rain or Shine got 22 points and nine rebounds from Arizona Reid, while Jireh Ibañes pumped in 18 markers on 8-of-11 shooting. JR Quiñahan provided nine markers, but the next highest scorer could only manage a mere five points.

The Bolts got 11 more free throw attempts than their opponents, 26-15, and were also better from beyond the arc, 5-of-13 versus 4-of-27. The Elasto Painters hauled in more boards, 56-46, 19-7 on the offensive end, but it only resulted in seven more second-chance points.  - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

Meralco 82 - Wilson 18, Hodge 17, West 17, Hugnatan 8, Guevarra 6, Reyes 6, Ross 4, Timberlake 4, Allado 2, Cardona 0

Rain or Shine 76 - Reid 22, Ibañes 18, Quinahan 9, Lee 5, Cruz 5, Belga 5, Matias 3, Norwood 3, Tang 2, Chan 2, Arana 2, Rodriguez 0

Quarter scoring: 21-20, 44-37, 66-59, 82-76