Bolts strike, come rain or shine

MANILA, Philippines - Macmac Cardona flourished amid boos and jeers from the crowd, pouring in 11 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter as Meralco withstood Rain or Shine, 93-84, to close in on the leaders in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup elimination round at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

Cardona teamed up with Earl Barron and Chris Ross for key plays as the Bolts checked an impending meltdown in time, salvaging a second straight win and their third in seven games in all.

“I’m used to playing before a boisterous crowd. I enjoyed that during my college days. I draw energy from that,” said Cardona, a former La Salle player.

Ryan Gregorio lauded Cardona for his offensive exploits although the youthful Meralco mentor believed team effort on defense spelled the big difference.

“Defense is keeping us afloat,” said Gregorio. “We’ve limited our opponents to an average of 82 points in our last two games. That’s the kind of intensity we want us to be defined. We did that tonight against a high-scoring team in Rain or Shine,” Gregorio added.

The Bolts built a 22-point spread in the third quarter but had to clamp down on defense to fend off the Elasto Painters’ searing fourth-quarter rally.

The Elasto Painters virtually kissed their playoff hopes goodbye with their fifth loss against a lone win.

Ronjay Buenafe scored all of his 12 points in the payoff period, leading the RoS counterattack that saw Elasto Painters rally from a 44-66 deficit to within, 80-83, entering the homestretch.

With Meralco still holding a precarious lead at 87-84, Ross knocked in a crucial shot from the right flank with 39 seconds left to ease up the pressure.

Barron, Cardona and Reynel Hugnatan, earlier, fuelled a big run that opened Meralco’s 22-point lead midway through the third period.

With a solid game throughout, B-Meg outlasted Barangay Ginebra, 109-93, in a fierce battle to gain solo second with a 4-2 card in the nightcap.

“Obviously, we played our best game in the conference. We clicked on all cylinders, and that’s the way to beat Ginebra,” said B-Meg coach Tim Cone.

The Meralco import wound up with another huge double-double game with 29 points and 22 rebounds as against Duke Crews’ 21 markers and 14 boards.

Cardona went 2-of-3 from the three-point area, 8-of-12 from the two-point zone and 3-of-4 from the stripe, and added five rebounds, three assists and one steal against three errors in 44 minutes of action.

He would taunt the crowd each time he would make a big play.

“I’m using the noise to motivate myself,” said Cardona.

Paul Lee led the Rain or Shine locals in scoring with 13. Curiously, coach Yeng Guiao opted to sit out the prolific rookie in the crunch.

The scores:

First Game

Meralco 93 – Barron 29, Cardona 25, Hugnatan 16, Espinas 12, Ross 5, Mercado 4, Macapagal 2, Timberlake 0, Borboran 0, Taulava 0.

Rain or Shine 84 – Crews 21, Lee 13, Buenafe 12, Norwood 8, Quinahan 8, Cruz 4, Chan 4, Ibanes 4, Matias 3, Belga 3, Tang 2, Arana 2.

Quarterscores: 30-18, 47-39, 72-61, 93-84

Second Game

B-MEG 109 – Bowles 27, Simon 18, Barroca 18, Yap J. 15, Urbiztondo 12, Devance 7, Reavis 5, Pingris 4, De Ocampo 3, Intal 0.

GINEBRA 93 – Vroman 26, Ababou 15, Helterbrand 14, Caguioa 11, Canaleta 8, Raymundo 8, Hatfield 4, Wilson W. 3, Labagala 2, Cortez 2, Wilson J. 0, Mamaril 0.

Quarterscores: 20-26, 46-45, 75-69, 109-93