PBA: No Dillinger, no problem as Meralco Bolts zap Alaska Aces

(Updated 8:14pm) The Meralco Bolts prevented the defending champions Alaska Aces from moving over .500, dispatching their foes 85-76, to nab their first win in the 2014 PBA Philippine Cup, Wednesday, at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

The Bolts improved to 1-1, while Alaska lost their second game, 1-2.

Brian Butch led all scorers with 27 points. After missing all six of his three-point attempts in his debut, Butch nailed 6-of-11 long bombs in this game, to go with 17 rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Reynel Hugnatan added 14 points and six rebounds, while Gary David and Cliff Hodge each had 12 markers and combined for 14 boards.

Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio said his team did a good job despite missing Jared Dillinger, who was out with a bacterial infection and did not play for Meralco tonight. Anjo Caram instead got the starting nod for the Bolts, and impressed everyone with his decision-making and passing on the floor. Caram finished with seven points, three rebounds and three assists, plus a late three-pointer in the fourth that iced the win for Meralco.

"It's really nice to see guys who are supposed to be on the farthest end of the bench... seize opportunities," said Gregorio, praising his point guard's preparedness for his new role.

"We were able to do the job because of defense," added Gregorio. "This is really a welcome development, we were able to find ways to win against the defending champions.

Gregorio also praised Butch's outside shooting, saying, "That's really his strength. He's a floor spacer, and gives opportunities for our guys to penetrate because of our spacing inside." However, he raised a concern that Butch was on the receiving end of fouls that need to be examined by the league.

"It's physicality that's meant to hurt and has no place in the game," finished Gregorio.

Meralco displayed a great inside-out game in the first quarter, as import Brian Butch and Reynel Hugnatan charged the Bolts offense. The Aces fizzled out and scored just four points in the last seven minutes, and trailed 20-12 after conceding a basket to Cliff Hodge at the quarter buzzer.

Despite giving up a layup to Anjo Caram early in the second, Alaska eventually kept the Bolts out of the paint and forced them to score from the outside. Cyrus Baguio too began to heat up on the other end, connecting twice from beyond the arc to cut the Meralco to three, 31-28, with 3:27 to play.

The Bolts called a timeout and Hodge answered with a driving baseline slam, before staving off Alaska's comeback with an AJ Mandani trey with 21 seconds left, to lead 37-33 at halftime.


Alaska ran into foul trouble in the third, as Gabby Espinas earned his fourth personal and Rob Dozier received a flagrant one for collaring Hugnatan on a shot attempt. Alaska hung tough, as JVee Casio and Sonny Thoss held the fort. Beyond Butch's three-pointers, the Bolts had little going for them offensively, but couldn't increase their lead to more than eight points. They entered the final canto up 61-54.

Casio singlehandedly kept the Aces alive in the final period, but it wasn't be enough to overtake the Bolts' team play. Gary David and Hugnatan supported Butch's early scoring outburst, 76-67.

With five minutes left, Dozier flushed a putback slam to wake Alaska, as they got the difference down to 78-72 with 3:28 remaining. But the Bolts kept their cool, as David and Caram starred in an 8-2 run, 85-72, to put Alaska away with a minute left.

Meralco went 24-of-67 (35.8 percent) from the field, while Alaska was 26-of-74 (35.1 percent). The Bolts led 17-8 in turnover points.

Meralco also attempted 42 free throws and made 29 (69 percent). The Aces, in contrast, converted 18-of-28 (64 percent) from the stripe.

JVee Casio tallied 19 points, including 4-of-9 three-pointers, and five rebounds for the Aces. Rob Dozier had 17 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. Cyrus Baguio and Sonny Thoss offered 12 and 10 points, respectively, and combined for 11 rebounds.

New acquisition Vic Manuel, formerly of the Air21 Express, logged 10 minutes and produced six points and five boards.  - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

MERALCO 85 - Butch 27, Hugnatan 14, David 12, Hodge 12, Caram 7, Mandani 5, Ildefonso 4, Guevarra 2, Wilson 2, Al-Hussaini 0

ALASKA 76 - Casio 19, Dozier 17, Baguio 12, Thoss 10, Manuel 6, Jazul 4, Espinas 3, Reyes 2, Abueva 2, Dela Cruz 1, Hontiveros 0

Quarter-scoring: 20-12, 37-33, 61-54, 85-76