Meralco displayed its usual solid defensive game to thwart NLEX, 114-98, to get back on the winning track in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup yesterday at the Philsports Arena.
Import KJ McDaniels was impressive while Chris Newsome asserted his might early on to lead the Bolts to a strong first-half rally that allowed them to dictate the tempo en route to their first win after back-to-back losses.
McDaniels, who played for NLEX last season, finished with 31 points and 21 rebounds for the Bolts, who scored 46 points from the paint compared to 32 for NLEX.
Newsome delivered 18 markers, five rebounds and eight assists while Allein Maliksi had nine of his 19 points in the fourth quarter laced with four three-pointers and six rebounds.
Aaron Black contributed 15 markers.
In getting back on the winning track, the Bolts had now improved their win-loss record to 4-3 to and tie with Magnolia at the sixth to seventh places.
“Basketball is really a game of runs. Normally, we’re having a good run and the other team comes back and make a run of their own,” Meralco coach Norman Black said.
“In the end, we were able to get some stops. Allein made some big shots and KJ was really dominant out there. Newsome made some shots as well. We knew if we cut down our turnovers, we’ll have a good chance to win.”
Black said they their chances depend on the performance of their reinforcement.
“If KJ can produce 30 points and 20 rebounds a game, we’ll have a chance of beating anybody,” said Black, whose wards held the Road Warriors to only 33 percent shooting from the field in the first half to erect a 37-16 lead in the second quarter.
“Nearly all teams are struggling to make their way to the playoffs. There are only a few which were actually pulling away.”
“Everybody is like tooth-and-nail to actually stay in the running. We’re now in the middle of the pack, but we’ve already played those teams ahead of us, so we have a good chance of staying in the running and possibly, make our way up the standings.”
