Meralco clamps down on Alaska

Games Wednesday (Smart Araneta Coliseum) 4:30 p.m. – Phoenix Fuel vs GlobalPort 7 p.m. – Columbian DYIP vs Ginebra

Meralco ended Alaska’s winning streak at seven following a big defensive effort that earned the Bolts an 89-74 win over the Aces in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“We went to this game knowing this is going to be tough,” said Meralco coach Norman Black. “I told the players that something had to give – Alaska’s scoring 108 points and we’re allowing (opponents) to 87 points.”

“It’s either their offense, or our defense. We came out playing good defense, and it was exceptional tonight. We also had a good balanced scoring with lots of our guys scoring,” added Black.

The Bolts held the Aces to 32-of-84 (38.1 percent) shooting from the field while making 33-of-76 (43.4 percent).

Meralco led by as many as 17 points, 70-53, in the third quarter and after the Aces managed to come to within, 73-65, the Bolts made 11 unanswered points to restore an 84-65 advantage with 6:41 left.

Newsome, a third year guard, led Meralco with 18 points, while Baser Amer and Dillinger contributed 17 points apiece. Onuaku chipped in 14 points and 23 boards for the Bolts.

The fourth straight victory lifted the Bolts into a tie for second spot with the Aces with similar 7-2 cards behind Rain or Shine’s 8-1 card.

The Bolts are in a good spot to make a run for the top two positions that will earn them a twice-to-beat bonus in the quarterfinals.

“We still control our own fate. We have to continue to play well and good basketball,” said Black.

Alaska suffered its first setback in nearly two months.

Calvin Abueva again missed the game for Alaska, which also played sans injured rookie Jeron Teng. Newsome 18, Dillinger 17, Amer 17, Onuaku 14, Canaleta 11, De Ocampo 10, Hugnatan 2, Hodge 0, Caram 0, Lanete 0. Campbell 25, Manuel 22, Banchero 13, Casio 5, Thoss 4, Pascual 3, Enciso 2, Racal 0, Exciminiano 0, Baclao 0. Quarters: 23-19, 41-40, 73-57, 89-74.