MERALCO snapped its losing run by turning back Rain or Shine yesterday 77-73 and gave stand-in coach Luigi Trillo a big victory in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With Aaron Black leading the way, the Bolts ended a two-game losing skid, counting a painful 89-90 loss to upstart Blackwater seven days ago, and improved to 4-3 in a tie with Magnolia and NLEX at fifth.
A Beau Belga basket shoved Rain or Shine to within 70-73 with 56.6 seconds remaining but Black answered with a booming triple that made it a 76-70 game in the last 33.6.
The Elasto Painters last threatened at 73-76 on Mark Borboran’s three free throws before Bong Quinto sank a freebie that pegged the final 4.8 ticks.
Black sizzled with a game-high 20 points on four treys, 10 of them in the fourth, on top of four rebounds and six assists for Meralco, while Allein Maliksi wound up with 19 markers, four boards, and two dimes.
Cliff Hodge and Raymond Almazan also had 13 and 10 points, respectively for the Bolts.
Rain or Shine, coming off a 93-99 defeat to San Miguel Beer last Wednesday, absorbed its sixth straight defeat in seven matches.
Trillo offered the triumph to Meralco coach Norman Black, who went to the United States to be with his ailing mother.
Lead deputy Ronnie Magsanoc was supposed to guide the Bolts, but he is with the Gilas Pilipinas 3×3 men’s team in the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup in Singapore.
“Our prayers go to coach Norman. He’s going through a tough time. He means a lot to our team, he means a lot to me, too. We’ve been together for eight years and we wish him the best. I know he didn’t want to leave, he’s always constantly there. He’s never missed anything so our prayers are with him,” said Trillo, who last coached the defunct Alaska franchise in 2014.
“It’s hard for us. We just had to help each other, stay positive. Coach Norman’s not there and coach Ronnie, he’s with the 3×3 national team. Just proud of anyone. It’s been eight years for me, so I was also not in my flow, but the players chipped in, they were vocal, and the coaching just helped each other out,” he added.
Meralco trailed 35-38 at the half and 53-54 heading into the payoff period went on a telling 10-0 blitz capped by a Chris Newsome bucket to take a 67-58 lead at the 6:31 mark of the final stanza.
Gabe Norwood paced the Elasto Painters with 13 points and nine rebounds, while Mike Nieto and Belga added 12 and 11, respectively.
