AFTER a slow start in the mid-season tourney, Meralco has found new zest and rediscovered its defensive teeth, thanks mainly to import KJ McDaniels.
Proving steadier when it mattered most, the Bolts scraped past TNT 97-91 yesterday for their third straight win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Tropang Giga threatened at 88-90 on a Mikey Williams jumper with still 2:08 left in the fourth quarter.
But Aaron Black and Raymond Almazan combined for five straight points that gave Meralco a 95-88 cushion, only 31.3 ticks left, that took the fight out of TNT.
McDaniels powered the Bolts with a double-double of 26 points and 15 rebounds, to go with four assists, while Almazan notched 21 markers and 11 boards.
Black also chipped in 17 and 11, while Bong Quinto and Chris Banchero combined for 23 points for Meralco, which scored a fitting follow-up to a 102-88 triumph over Blackwater six days ago and improved to 4-5 in a tie with the Tropang Giga.
TNT came off a 121-90 whipping of Terrafirma last Nov. 5.
Bolts coach Norman Black was pleased his charges are now proving their worth after going 1-5 early on in the conference.
“This was a big win for us, a huge win because getting past TNT is something that you don’t do every conference. So, it certainly gives us a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel, that’s for sure,” Black said. “We still have tough games coming up. We will still play San Miguel, Magnolia, and then NLEX. We still have a tough road to go but winning this game really helps our chances a great deal.
“We just keep working on practice and like I said, practice has been really good the past three weeks. We just wanna continue that, continue to build on that. The one important thing that has happened the past couple of weeks since KJ (McDaniels) came into the team is the fact that we’re playing better defense now,” he added.
The Tropang Giga zoomed to a 41-30 start on two free throws by JP Erram at the 7:30 mark of the second canto before settling for a 54-39 lead at the half.
Meralco battled back and pegged a 73-74 count heading into the final stanza.
Reinforcement Cameron Oliver carried the fight for TNT with 25 points and 20 caroms, while the returning Mikey Williams added 20 markers.
Jayson Castro and Erram also got 19 and 10 points, respectively, for the Tropang Giga.
