Onuaku shakes off ailment, lifts Bolts

Games Tomorrow (Smart Araneta) 4:30 p.m. – Meralco vs GlobalPort 7 p.m. – Alaska vs Rain or Shine

Meralco import Arinze Onuaku spent the previous three days on a hospital bed due to dehydration but hardly showed ill effects of his discomfort.

Not even the run-and-gun Columbian Dyip could do much to slow him down.

The wide-bodied Bolts reinforcement, who reportedly suffered digestion problems, had 30 points, 19 rebounds, six assists, three steals and four blocks in 43 minutes in a 116-103 victory yesterday in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, stalling for now the progress of the generically-labeled Dyip team.

“Hats off to Arinze… he’s been sick, he’s been in the hospital the last three days,” Meralco coach Norman Black said of his prized reinforcement, who missed just one of 15 attempts from the field.

“Coming in and supporting the locals, I was happy with his performance. He’s presence inside was something we lacked in the all-Filipino conference. He gave us that tonight,” added Black.

Meralco also got solid contributions from veteran forward KG Canaleta, who came off the bench to contribute 12 points in the second half as he nailed 4-of-8 from the three-point area.

Chris Newsome, a Rookie of the Year awardee, and Jared Dillinger also delivered big as non-starters as they added 18 and 11 points, respectively, while guard Nico Salva had 13.

“It’s a great effort, great start for us. Coming from the all-Filipino, it’s a good start. Hopefully we can sustain the energy and effort,” said Black, whose team faces GlobalPort tomorrow also at the Big Dome.

Defensively, the Bolts did well as it shut down Columbian’s sophomore guard Jeremy King, held to 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting after he exploded for a careerbest 30 in a 12698 win over Blackwater at the start of the mid-season conference last Sunday.

Onuaku 30, Newsome 18, Salva 13, Canaleta 12, Dillinger 11, Hodge 8, Amer 7, Hugnatan 7, Caram 4, Sedurifa 4, Tolomia 2, Ballesteros 0. Aiken 21, Lastimosa 16, McCarthy 16, Camson 15, Celda 14, King 12, Tubid 4, Khobuntin 2, Cahilig 2, Corpuz 1, Ababou 0, Escoto 0, Sara 0. Quarters: 25-31; 56-57; 85-79; 116-103.