MERALCO lefty playmaker Aaron Black soared before twisting mid-air for a layup using his right hand off Eastern big man Yuet Yeung Pok last night.
The hang time highlight that drew ahhs and oohhs from the good-sized crowd provided the coup de grace as the Bolts fashioned an 88-83 decision over Eastern to get back on track in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Black, who before rising for the clutch basket with 45.3 seconds to go left Eastern guar Kobey Lam biting the dust, gave Meralco an 86-81 lead—just enough cushion to fend off the visiting squad.
Adding an interesting sidelight in the duel was the friendship of Bolts active consultant Nenad Vucinic and Eastern tactician Mensur Bajramovic, according to Meralco coach Luigi Trillo.
“Those two go back a long way. I think they’re childhood friends. We know there was a war in their former country, Yugoslavia. I think they reconnected 10 years ago,” Trillo said. “This is a good one. We did enough to win. It was a grind-out win with still things to work on.
“I think we missed 19 free throws and we knew they would come in the third quarter where they had 31 points but I think we did enough to hold the fort and get this win,” he added.
Import Akil Mitchell notched a game-high 31 points, to go with 10 rebounds, five assists and seven steals for the Bolts while Bong Quinto chipped in 16 markers, four boards, and two dimes.
The hard-earned triumph atoned for Meralco’s two-game mini-losing skid, counting a 94-110 loss to Converge last Christmas Day and hiked its mark to 4-2.
The visitors came off a 99-91 victory over the defending champions San Miguel Beermen last Dec. 22 and slipped to 6-3 in the import-spiced second conference.
The Bolts came out of the New Year with guns blazing and zoomed to an early 28-19 lead before they settled for a 39-36 buffer at the half.
Meralco still held a 69-67 edge heading into the final stanza.
After Chris Newsome’s two free throws made it an 88-81 count with 31 ticks left, reinforcement Chris McLaughlin pulled Eastern to within 83-88.
A Quinto missed four-pointer left the door open for Eastern but Pok committed a costly turnover in the ensuing play that spelled doom for the foreign guest team.
McLaughlin paced Eastern with 28 points and 18 caroms while Lam added 16 and six.
Steven Guinchard and Hayden Blankley also got 13 and 12 markers, respectively for Eastern.
The year 2025 ushers in new hopes for the Bolts in their bid to prove their maiden title triumph in the last Philippine Cup was no fluke.
