MERALCO’S resolve when it mattered most more than made up for its struggles in a match that Bolts coach Norman Black described as “a really important game for us.”
“It turned out what we thought it would be. It was a grind out type of a game,” Black said.
“It wasn’t very pretty because both teams really rely a little bit on defense than they do on offense. But we made some stops down the stretch that made the difference in the game.
“The guys stuck together tonight. There was a chance for us to fall apart when we were down in the third and fourth quarters but the guys stuck together. They grinded it out and came back to win the game,” he added.
Black spoke after Meralco carved out a thrilling 86-84 decision over hard-fighting Magnolia last Sunday night for its second straight win in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
Import KJ McDaniels wound up with 19 points, including three of four free throws in the last 31.2 ticks after a Chris Newsome split that spelled the big difference, to go with 15 rebounds and an assist for the Bolts.
Newsome chipped in 16 markers, three boards and two dimes, while Aaron Black and Bong Quinto added 13 and 12 points, respectively, as Meralco scored a big follow up to a 114-98 triumph over NLEX five days ago and improved to 5-3 for solo sixth.
The Hotshots saw their four-game winning streak that included a 112-97 whipping of Rain or Shine last Wednesday come to a screeching halt and dropped to 4-4 in the Third Conference.
Black heaped praises on his charges for not losing heart despite falling behind by as much as 12 points.
“We really thought this was really an important game for us tonight. We struggled all throughout and I think everybody will admit that but they just grinded it out,” Black said.
“They stayed together, nobody blamed anybody for not playing well or why things were not going well. They just stuck it out and believed we could get a victory in the end.”
Reinforcement Antonio Hester carried the fight for Magnolia with 23 points, 15 caroms, and three feeds, while Paul Lee, who missed on a last-gasp triple try that could have won it for the Hotshots at the buzzer, had 18 points and seven rebounds.
