By Joel Orellana
MERALCO came out after the halftime break with more focus and energy to turn back Blackwater, 87-72, and get back on the winning track in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Gary David and Asian import Seiya Ando led the Bolts in their comeback, as Andre Emmet had his worst scoring game in the tournament, to help Meralco get back to .500 with a 3-3 win-loss record.
David came off the bench and hit 16 markers, while Ando was the spark in the fourth quarter, where Meralco pulled away and handed the Elite their fifth loss in six outings.
“We had a very good effort in the second half. We lacked energy and spunk in the beginning. We let Blackwater jump over us,” Bolts Head Coach Norman Black said.
“It was an all-Filipino that separated us. JD [Dillinger], Ando and David stepped up,” he added.
Emmett finished with just 17 points, 20 below his average, while Dillinger and Ando each had 12 for the Bolts, who trailed 12-22 after the first period and 34-39 going into the break.
Meralco then made its move in the third, outscoring Blackwater, 29-17, to carry a 63-56 advantage entering the payoff period.
Ando and David then joined forces in the Bolts’ fourth-quarter surge and erected an 83-67 advantage with 3:33 remaining.
Marcus Douthit led the Elite with 15 points, while Brian Huruela was the only local to hit double digits for Coach Leo Isaac’s team with 12 markers.
Meanwhile, the league fined Barako Bull’s Rico Maierhofer P20,000 for “using a foreign object as an aid in performing an offensive or defensive move” during their game against San Miguel Beer.
Maierhofer used his shoe to block the attempt of Beermen’s Gabby Espinas, which according to the PBA rule was “a blatant misconduct that disrespects/mocks the game and unprofessional nature.”
The former De La Salle standout lost his shoe before the “shoe-palpal” incident and instead of putting it back on, he raced down the court and swatted the lay-up of Espinas with the shoe. San Miguel won that game, 116-113.