Manila, Philippines - Mark Isip returned from a 28-point performance to deliver a clutch play at the finish as Meralco made it two in a row with an 81-78 decision over Alaska Milk in a PBA Governors Cup road game at the Mindanao Civic Center in Tubod, Lanao del Norte last night.
The 6-foot-5 center out of Far Eastern U grabbed a crucial offensive rebound and canned in a charity in the last 2.6 seconds as the Bolts held off the Aces for a second straight win after a 105-100 triumph over the Petron Blaze Boosters last Sunday.
Meralco caught Rain or Shine at the helm while Alaska slid to the cellar in the company of Air21 and Powerade at 0-2.
Rain or Shine seeks to regain the solo lead, going for win No. 3 versus a Jimmy Alapag-less Talk n Text side at the resumption of the short season-ending tourney at the Araneta Coliseum tonight.
They mix it up at 4:15 p.m., preceding the 6:30 p.m. faceoff between Petron Blaze and Barangay Ginebra.
The PBA will raffle off special items, including sport watches, cellular phones, gift certificates and Smart Bros in celebration of Father’s Day.
Petron top forward Jay Washington is also out due to a foot injury suffered Friday night against Air21. He’s set to undergo an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) test this morning to determine the extent of his injury.
Washington played only the first seven minutes of their 115-106 conquest of Air21 Friday night. He left ahead of the rest after hearing something pop out in his left foot.
Debuting import Jeremy Wise was of big help to the Boosters with Washington out, churning out 33 points, six rebounds and the same number of assists in 40 minutes of action.
Meralco continued to play minus top gun Mark Cardona but the Bolts coped with the situation with big lift from import Champ Oguchi, Sol Mercado and Gabby Espinas in the Phoenix Fuel-sponsored road tussle.
Oguchi, who averages five triples a game in the season, hit that number and finished with a game-high 28 points against the struggling Aces.
Espinas and Mercado put in 16 points apiece with the former also collaring 12 rebounds.
The Aces rallied from a 14-point deficit but blew a chance to steal the game on two three-point misses by LA Tenorio in the last 28 seconds.