Asi, West give Bolts added volts vs Aces

MANILA, Philippines - Mario West delivered what was expected of him and Asi Taulava played above expectations as Meralco snapped a three-game skid, drubbing Alaska Milk, 100-95, in the PBA Governors Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

West and Taulava combined for 56 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists, giving the Bolts a second victory following an opening game win over the Talk n Text Tropang Texters.

While the Bolts closed in on the front-runners, the Aces were left alone in the cellar as they suffered a third straight loss and fourth in five games in all.

“We addressed our problem (by bringing in a new import). It’s obvious in our three-game downward spiral. Our import had to do with it,” said Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio.

“West came off a one-month layoff but he made efforts enough to give us the win,” he added.

West went scoreless in the last quarter after having piled up 33 points on 11-of-24 field shooting and 9-of-12 free throws.

“We’ve found an import who can contribute on both ends. His intensity ultimately rubbed off to his teammates especially Asi Taulava who has turned back the hands of time and now playing his best games in years,” said Gregorio.

Taulava was perfect from the field (7-of-7) and converted 9-of-13 charities for 23 points – his largest output in a game since scoring the same in the opener of the same conference last year.

“Coach Ryan is doing a good job making basketball easy for me. He’s making me shoot just within three feet from the basket,” said Taulava.

When told of his 69.2 percent free throws in this game, Taulava wondered: “Is that me?”

West scored at least 10 points in each of the first three quarters before slowing down but the Bolts found no problem sustaining the momentum in the payoff period.

Mark Caguioa scored 12 of his 19 points in the final quarter and Barangay Ginebra went on a decisive run from 62-71 down en route to a stirring 83-80 win over Petron Blaze in the nightcap.

The Kings improved to solo third at 3-2 while the Boosters slipped to fifth at 3-3.

The new Meralco import, a former Atlanta Hawk and New Jersey Net, was helped to their bench due to cramps with 49 seconds left to play.

West, Taulava and rookie Gilbert Bulawan joined forces in the second period, enabling Meralco to wipe out a 12-point deficit, 25-37, and surge ahead, 55-50, at the half.

The Aces started with a 10-1 run and went on an 11-2 attack from a 26-23 count to open a double-digit spread early in the second quarter.

Alaska, however, failed to keep up as Meralco stepped up in the third quarter with West firing 11 and Taulava rifling in 10.

The scores:

First Game

Meralco 100 – West 33, Taulava 23, Bulawan 9, Cardona 9, Hugnatan 8, Mercado 6, Ross 4, Reyes 4, Artadi 4.

Alaska 95 – Forte 24, Custodio 11, Tenorio 11, Jazul 10, Baguio 10, Thoss 9, Espinas 8, Eman 6, Dela Cruz 4, Baracael 2, Gonzales 0.

Quarterscores: 23-30, 55-50, 82-75, 100-95

Second Game

Ginebra 83 – Caguioa 19, Bozeman 16, Raymundo 15, Ababou 6, Maierhofer 6, Hatfield 6, Maliksi 5, Villanueva 4, Canaleta 2, Cortez 2, Helterbrand 2.

Petron 80 – Basden 15, Lutz 15, Miranda 13, Ildefonso 11, Washington 10, Santos 9, Cabagnot 6, Yeo 1, Reyes 0, Peña 0.

Quarterscores: 19-21, 40-40, 58-65, 83-80