PBA: Meralco lights it up from deep, sinks league-leading NorthPort

Meralco turned up the heat from downtown and punished league-leading NorthPort in a dominant 111-94 victory in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup on Tuesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The Bolts, who were coming off a 105-91 win over NLEX last Friday, ignited for six three-pointers in the fourth quarter to deal the Batang Pier their second loss in nine games while improving to 6-3 in the team standings.

"NorthPort has been playing really good basketball. They deserve every win, they've been taking down a lot of quality teams [like] Eastern and Ginebra," Meralco head coach Luigi Trillo said.

"Like some of the coaches said, they are the real deal. But I think today we played better defensively. This team can score with Munzon, Tolentino, Navarro, and their import is also a perfect fit for them."

Meralco's own import Akil Mitchell took care of business in the third period, where they turned a 54-44 halftime lead to an 82-69 cushion thanks to eight points each from the American reinforcement and Chris Banchero.

But it was the rest of the crew that allowed Meralco to shut the light out against the top-seeded Batang Pier, who were high in morale after beating Ginebra for the first time since 2019 last Wednesday with a 119-116 escape.

Mitchell and Jolo Mendoza each buried a three-pointer to open the floodgates for the reigning Philippine Cup champions, 98-82, halfway through the payoff period. Banchero, Mendoza, and Chris Newsome fired three three-pointers for a 109-87 lead with 2:38 left.

NorthPort did try to come back behind Sidney Onwubere, but the might and depth of Meralco were just too much for the league-leading club.

Mitchell led the charge with 30 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, and five steals while Banchero churned out 25 markers, four boards, six dimes, and one steal as Meralco as a team shot 11 triples in the game.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News