MERALCO knows this but failed to do this last Saturday night—it’s not how you start, but how you finish.
Failing to sustain a fast charge, the Bolts surrendered an 87-101 loss to Shabab Al Ahli in their opening outing in Group B play of the Basketball Champions League Asia at Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall in Dubai.
Active consultant Nenad Vucinic admitted the home team was simply the better squad especially in the second half, thanks to its impeccable outside shooting, running game, and inside play.
“They really played well offensively. They gave us a lot of problems, shot the ball extremely well from the three-point line, and did well in transition as well,” Vucinic said.
“It’s going to be a tough task, but we’re confident we can play much better than we did, and hopefully have a chance to win,” he added.
With the setback, Meralco, which earned the right to represent the Philippines in the June 7 to 13 meet formerly known as the FIBA Asia Champions Cup for being the defending PBA All-Filipino tilt champion, had its back against the wall when it clashed with reigning Japan B.League titlist Utsunomiya Brex at press time last night at the same venue.
The Bolts squandered an 11-point second quarter lead and were outgunned 31-51 in the final two quarters by the Red Knights.
Imports Glynn Watson and Jordon Varnado turned in 19 points each for Meralco.
Chris Newsome added 14 markers in the first half, but was handcuffed to only a point the rest of the way to finish with 15 for the Bolts. He fouled out with three minutes to go in the game.
Another reinforcement in John Egbunu scored 12 markers for Meralco while Chris Banchero had 11 markers.
Deshawndre Washington banged in 40 points, including 23 early on for the hosts.
Shabab Al Ahli fell 43-34 in the second period but a 10-2 closing binge enabled the Red Knights to pull within 56-53 at the half.
Shabab Al Ahli shot 56 percent from beyond the arc (10-of-18), outscored the Bolts in fastbreak points 24-14, and dominated inside the paint 50-38.
The top eight quintets overall out of the nine-team field at the end of the group phase will advance to the quarterfinals.
With little to no room for error, last night’s tiff should have served as a big test of grit and resilience for the Bolts.
