Meralco's Bong Quinto in action against Rain or Shine in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup, December 1, 2024 at the Ynares Center in Antipolo. PBA ImagesMANILA -- The Meralco Bolts pulled away early then held on in the end for a 121-111 win against Rain or Shine in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup, Sunday evening at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The game turned out to be an all-Filipino affair, as the Elasto Painters were without import Deon Thompson, who has yet to "secure his special work permit."
Meanwhile, the Bolts lost their own reinforcement, Akil Mitchell, just seconds into the game after he was inadvertently hit by ROS forward Keith Datu on the face.
Mitchell sustained a broken nose and was brought to a hospital for treatment.
"I think that kinda motivated 'yung mga boys, kind of kept up sharp," Meralco coach Luigi Trillo said, praising his players' response to losing their import.
Several players stepped up for Meralco and they built a 33-25 lead after the first frame, before going on to weather the Elasto Painters' attempts to overhaul the deficit late.
Rain or Shine was within four points, 105-101, with over four minutes to go off a Jhonard Clarito triple but Norbert Torres responded with an and-1, and two more free throws by Cliff Hodge gave Meralco some more breathing room, 110-101, with 3:40 to play.
The E-Painters last threatened when Andrei Caracut knocked down a triple with 1:20 left for a 116-111 count, but they flubbed their next possessions and Meralco made enough free throws to ice the game.
"I'm really proud of the guys, most especially Norbert Torres. Norbert had a really big game. Obviously New [Chris Newsome], Bong [Quinto] are the usual suspects here, but even si Jansen [Rios] played well. We needed those guys to step up because kulang nga kami, we have five guys missing," said Trillo.
Newsome paced Meralco with 25 points, while Quinto added 20 markers, four dimes, and four boards to earn Player of the Game honors. Rios had 16 and Torres put up 13 points, while Raymond Almazan (12 points, 16 rebounds) and Hodge (11 points, 11 boards) finished with double-doubles.
The Elasto Painters got 17 points from Datu and 15 from Rence Nocum, but they were left to rue an awful shooting night from the stripe as they made just 19 of 31 free throws in a game they lost by 10 points.
Meralco improved to 2-0 in the conference, while the Elasto Painters are off to a 0-1 start.
The Scores :
MERALCO 121 – Newsome 25, Quinto 20, Rios 16, Torres 13, Almazan 12, Hodge 11, Caram 10, Black 9, Pascual 2 , Pasaol 1, Jose 2, Mitchell 0
RAIN OR SHINE 111 – Datu 17, Nocum 15, Santillan 14, Clarito 13, Tiongson 12, Caracut 11, Lemetti 9, Belga 6, Norwood 5, Malonzo 5, Ildefonso 2, Demusis 2
QUARTERS : 33-25, 52-49, 89-81, 121-111