Boosters trip Bolts in tight finish

MANILA, Philippines - Macmac Cardona took a forced shot that went way off the target in the closing seconds, allowing Petron Blaze to escape with a 76-75 win over Meralco in a PBA Philippine Cup road game at the Naga City Coliseum last night.

Arwind Santos knocked in the go-ahead basket and helped Denok Miranda put the big defensive stop versus Cardona as the Boosters notched a fifth straight win and closed in on the pacesetting Talk n Text Tropang Texters (8-1) with an 8-3 win-loss card.

Petron avenged a 70-80 loss to Meralco in their previous meeting and, in the process, sent the Bolts down to fifth place at 7-5.

The Boosters squandered an 11-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter but hung tough in a battle down the stretch, negating the exploits of Cardona, Chico Lanete and Sol Mercado in the Phoenix Fuel-sponsored out-of-town tussle.

Cardona, Lanete and Mercado fueled Meralco’s chase setting the stage for the tight finish.

The Bolts engaged the Boosters in a nip-and-tuck battle in the crunch but hastened their downfall with two turnovers in the last minute.

Santos made it 76-75 on a top-of-the-key jumper after Taulava turned the ball over off a double-teaming Petron defense.

Lanete committed a passing error with 33 ticks left but Meralco got another lease on life when Santos missed a three-pointer.

The Bolts quickly sued for time, and coach Ryan Gregorio mapped a play for Cardona with Mercado and Lanete on the sides as the other options.

Cardona did get the inbound but found himself doubled up by Santos and Miranda.

Instead of kicking the ball out to Mercado or Lanete, Cardona forced the situation.

Meanwhile, Talk n Text pursues its bid for top seeding in the playoffs while Powerade tries to step up its chase of the leaders as they clash today at the resumption of play at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Rain or Shine and Barako Bull collide in the day’s other game, both hoping to check their skid and regain their bearing, nearing the playoff phase of the all-Filipino tourney.

The Tropang Texters and the Tigers slug it out at 4:15 p.m. then the Elasto Painters and the Energy mix it up at 6:30 p.m. 

The scores:

Petron 76 – Santos 23, Cabagnot 13, Tugade 10, Yeo 9, Ildefonso 8, Miranda 6, Reyes 5, Baclao 2, Agustin 0.

Meralco 75 – Cardona 18, Lanete 14, Mercado 11, Taulava 7, Espinas 6, Macapagal 5, Borboron 4, Omolon 4, Isip 4, Hugnatan 2, Yee 0, Timberlake 0, Faundo 0.

Quarterscores: 23-19, 43-38, 64-53, 76-75