Boosters overpower Bolts, keep perfect record intact

MANILA, Philippines -- Petron Blaze shattered Meralco’s defensive wall in the second half and pounded out a 77-73 win to keep a perfect slate halfway through its elimination-round stint in the PLDT MyDSL PBA Philippine Cup at the Dipolog City Sports Complex in Dipolog, Zamboanga del Norte Saturday night.

Alex Cabagnot, Marcio Lassiter, Chris Lutz and Arwind Santos quickened the pace of the game in their return from the halftime huddle, disallowing Meralco from setting up zone defense it used to put up a tough fight in the first 24 minutes of the Petron Blaze-sponsored Saturday special.

The Boosters went on a rampage behind a running game in the third quarter, surging ahead, 64-53, and going on to stay with a clean record since losing Game Seven of the recent Governors Cup finals to the San Mig Coffee Mixers.

Cabagnot, knocking down the winning shot in his first game in the season versus Air21 Wednesday, again made an impact with a huge contribution in their key third-quarter run

Meralco made a conscious effort to neutralize Junmar Fajardo, but the Cebuano behemoth still came through with a double-double game with 19 rebounds and 12 points plus three blocks.

Santos, Lutz and Doug Kramer also had big help as the Boosters pinned a fourth loss in seven games on the Bolts.

Taking a breather on Sunday and Monday, the tourney resumes Tuesday with a double-header at the Big Dome pitting San Mig Coffee versus Barako Bull and Talk n Text against Rain or Shine.

Pushing the tempo of the game, Petron Blaze seized control with an 11-point spread going to the final canto.

Meralco engaged Petron in a battle early on behind a zone defense and a set offense anchored on the team’s shooters.

The Bolts played the zone that collapsed on Fajardo each time the 6-foot-10 center got the ball down low.

Offensively, the Meralco wingmen delivered the goods as the Boosters took the half at 37-34.

Jared Dillinger and Gary David came out firing, and Meralco led by seven points at 27-20 on a nine-to-nothing roll.

After Petron regrouped and made its own run on Fajardo’s return from a brief rest, David and Dillinger again went on a scoring binge as Meralco sat on a three-point halftime lead.

The two Meralco gunners had combined for 22 points by the half.

Cabagnot had three treys and a three-point play to lead the Boosters with 12 markers in the first 24 minutes of play.