Tony Bishop drops double-double vs NLEX as Meralco remains unbeaten amid PBA restart

Even after nearly two months of inactivity, Meralco import Tony Bishop showed no signs of rust in steering the Bolts to a 110-100 victory over sister team NLEX to open the 2021 PBA Governors' cup restart on Friday.

The US-born Panamanian reinforcement finished with a monster double-double of 32 points and 13 rebounds to go along with eight assists, one steal, and one block.

Aaron Black was also integral, dropping 19 markers and four rebounds while Chris Newsome and Allein Maliksi churned out 18 and 17 points, respectively, as they improved to 3-0.

NLEX, on the other hand, slid to 4-2.

It was a tight game at one point in the opening quarter until Bishop dropped eight straight points to end the first frame with the Bolts leading 33-18.

The Road Warriors couldn't find the perfect defensive scheme to stop Meralco's offense in the second period as Bishop, alongside guards Newsome, Maliksi, and Black, helped them establish a 17-point cushion at the break, 62-45.

NLEX, though, came knocking on Meralco's door in the second half.

KJ McDaniels waxed hot in the third before debuting Matt Nieto drilled his first three-point field goal to cut their deficit to 10, 80-70.

Meralco, however, countered with a quick 8-4 barrage to end the third period, 88-74.

With Bishop misfiring in the fourth, Black and Newsome took control of the game as they picked up where they left off last December 22, when they defeated TNT Tropang Giga.

McDaniels, who had been averaging 29.2 points and 11.4 rebounds prior to this game, finished with a game-high 41 points to lead the Road Warriors.

A tough next assignment awaits the Bolts as they will be up against defending champion Barangay Ginebra San Miguel on Sunday at 6:45 p.m. NLEX, meanwhile, returns to hardwood on February 16 against Magnolia.

The scores:

Meralco 110 - Bishop 32, Black 19, Newsome 18, Maliksi 17, Hodge 11, Quinto 6, Caram 4, Almazan 3, Belo 0, Canete 0, Pasaol 0

NLEX 100 - McDaniels 41, Alas 16, Oftana 10, Nieto 10, Cruz 6, Semerad 6, Ighalo 5, Trollano 2, Varilla 2, Quiñahan 2, Magat 0, Rosales 0, Soyud 0, 

Quarterscores: 33-18, 62-45, 88-74, 110-100.

—JMB, GMA News