Hodge stars as Meralco outlasts Blackwater in OT

Games Wednesday (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

4:15 p.m. – Kia vs Rain or Shine

7 p.m. – NLEX vs Ginebra

MANILA, Philippines – Cliff Hodge came through with career highs 26 points and 18 rebounds while John Wilson delivered in overtime as Meralco overcame the gritty Blackwater squad, 83-75, for a second straight win in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Tuesday night.

The Bolts blew away an 18-point third-quarter lead but regrouped in the extra period, with Wilson firing away all of his nine points in OT as they made it two in a row following a 112-108 double-overtime victory over the Barako Bull Energy Wednesday.

“I don't like overtimes but my players seem to like it. It’s okay for as long as we come up with the win,” said Meralco coach Norman Black.

“We had a pretty good flow of the game in the first three quarters, but once Blackwater got momentum, it was very hard for us to stop them,” Black also said.

Meanwhile, Barangay Ginebra shoots for a third straight win as they go up against NLEX in the 7 p.m. mainer of Wednesday’s twinbill at the Big Dome, keenly awaited for another showdown between former MVP winner Asi Taulava and 2014 Rookie of the Year awardee Greg Slaughter.

Rain or Shine (1-1) and Kia (0-2) clash in the curtain raiser at 4:15 p.m.

The Elite pulled even at 70 on a 3-pointer by Bam Gamalinda with 14.8 seconds to go in regulation, then had a chance to steal the game as Jason Ballesteros grabbed an important defensive rebound with four seconds left.

Ballesteros immediately sued for a player’s timeout but the referees apparently missed it and instead ruled a jump ball between Ballesteros and Sean Anthony a little later.

The 6-foot-7 Blackwater center won the tap but the ball went out of bounds as time expired thus sending the game into five extra minutes.

Zero-of-three from beyond the arc in regulation play, Wilson found the mark in OT, draining two treys in a crucial eight-to-nothing roll that put Meralco back in control at 78-72.

The Bolts went on to stop the Elite and preserved Hodge’s huge double-double game also marked by three steals and one block against one turnover.

Anthony came up with 10 rebounds, nine points and seven assists while Rey Guevarra added 10 markers as Meralco handed Blackwater a third loss in as many games.

It’s another heartbreaker for coach Leo Isaac and his team after blowing huge leads in their earlier setbacks against Kia and Rain or Shine.

Fourteen points down at the start after the first three quarters, the Elite went to Nuyles, Paul Artadi and Gamalinda as they almost completely turned the game around in the payoff period.

Back-to-back fall-away shots by Nuyles made it 67-69 then the Bolts had their first crack at pulling even as Artadi got a key possession.

Eddie Laure, however, blew it away on a flagrant infraction on Anthony.

Alas, the Bolts had their own crucial error and Gamalinda knocked in a trey that tied the count at 70.