MANILA, Philippines – Meralco import Eric Dawson, supposedly aching with an injured knee, played his usual game and inflicted San Mig Coffee much pain as the Bolts outfought the Mixers, 88-85, in the opener of their PBA Commissioner’s Cup best-of-three quarterfinals showdown at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight.
Dawson, hurting his left knee versus Rain or Shine just two nights ago, defied logic as he came through with 25 points and 18 rebounds and delivered the biggest plays at the finish, powering the Bolts to within a game of the Final Four.
“I don’t know what he’s made of. He’s not limping at all. There’s swelling in his leg but you can’t see it in him. He’s a great inspiration to us. We’re climbing on his back and we’re riding the wave, him leading us,†said Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio.
“I just fight to win. I tell myself I have to be aggressive,†said Dawson.
The former San Antonio Spur scored all but two of their last 11 points and grabbed the important rebounds at winning time as Meralco moved in the threshold of a first semis (under playoff format).
“Amazing, but it’s no reason to celebrate,†said Gregorio, recalling their sad experience in the same conference last year when they bungled a 1-0 lead against the same opponent.
“We want to be more intelligent Sunday. We know better now. We’ll not celebrate as there’s still a task to achieve,†Gregorio also said.
The Bolts shrugged off a poor 29.4-percent clip in the first quarter, seizing control in the second period and hanging tough to the finish, thus, negating Denzel Bowles’ 37-point explosion.
“We had some anxious moments at the start as we simply couldn’t stop Bowles. At the end, we’re able to make the necessary stops and the important free throws,†said Gregorio.
“The challenge against San Mig Coffee was to make them bleed for their baskets. That’s exactly what we did,†he added.
Bowles erupted for 37, rookie Alex Mallari contributed 12 but the rest of the Mixers were effectively contained by the stifling Meralco defense.
In fact, the Mixers were held to just a single free throw in the last 3:27 of play.
Dawson scored two charities as Meralco surged ahead to stay at 86-84.
Establishing rhythm in the second quarter after a flat first period, the Bolts erased early double-digit deficits, racing ahead, 47-43, at the half.
Dawson, Vic Manuel and Ronjay Buenafe scored eight apiece to fuel Meralco’s second-quarter turnaround.
The Meralco shooters outgunned their San Mig counterparts with Buenafe and Salvacion draining three treys each and both finishing with 13 markers.
James Yap made only eight points on 4-of-10 field shooting.
Meanwhile, Philippine Cup three-peat champion Talk n Text overcame Jerome Jordan’s measly 11-point and five-rebound game, topping Petron Blaze, 100-93, in Game One of their own best-of-three quarters matchup later in the night.
“We’re fortunate in this game our locals stepped up and held the fort for us,†said Talk n Text coach Norman Black.
Ranidel de Ocampo, Ryan Reyes, Larry Fonacier, Jayson Castro and Ali Peek put in double-digit outputs to make up for Jordan's poor performance.