MANILA, Philippines - With the game on the line, Josh Davis asked for the game’s final play – and delivered – as the Meralco Bolts squeaked past the Globalport Batang Pier, 86-84, to remain the lone unbeaten team in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the MOA Arena in Pasay City last night.
“He asked me ‘run the play for me and I will make the shot.’ As a coach you don’t have a choice. Your best player is asking for it,” said Meralco coach Norman Black of the decision that he didn’t regret.
“We got the ball to where we wanted and Josh gave us the great win,” Black said.
Receiving the inbound from Sean Anthony with 2.7 seconds left and the count tied at 84, Davis dribbled once to get past debuting Globalport import Calvin Warner and soared for a left-handed shot off Stanley Pringle that hit the target at the buzzer.
Capping a monstrous 33-point and 24-rebound job with that endgame heroic, Davis propelled the Bolts to a fifth straight win while handing the Batang Pier their third loss in five starts.
Also, the game-winner somehow erased the stigma of his bad, sad experience at the Pasay City playing venue where he lost his phone to a pickpocket while entertaining photo shoots with fans last Jan. 27.
“I just have to execute that play,” said the undersized but ultra-athletic player that has become the barometer among the imports in the mid-season conference.
“Josh is not really a good outside shooter but he’s got a good hook shot and he’s a good floater. He’s proving to be a really good import,” said Black of his prized find.
Davis sought that last play after Ronjay Buenafe banged in a tough three-pointer off Anthony to tie the game for the 11th and last time with 2.7 ticks left.
The last cut in the San Antonio Spurs roster for the current NBA season, the 6-foot-7 former San Diego State stalwart went 13-of-20 from the field and 7-of-10 from the stripe, striking hardest in the payoff period with gunner Gary David.
Davis and David combined for all but two of Meralco’s 27-point fourth-quarter output, beating out Warner, Buenafe and Denok Miranda in a shootout.
Scoreless in the first three quarters, Buenafe came out firing in the crunch and so did Miranda as the Bolts spurted ahead at 76-72 from 63-70 down.
Davis, David and Anthony worked on Meralco’s own fightback, though, with four straight free throws by Anthony and David pushing the Bolts ahead, 84-81, with time down to 9.7 seconds.
Buenafe just prolonged the battle with his great exploit in the ensuing play.
In another heart-stopping game later in the night, Talk n Text fought back from an early 17-point deficit and beat Barangay Ginebra, 104-103, in a down-the-wire battle to catch up with Purefoods at second place at 4-1.
“It’s good we’re able to come back. As it became anybody’s game, we just tried to stay in the game and we held their strengths the best way we could,” said TnT coach Jong Uichico.
The Kings were in the thick of the battle till the finish, but Jayson Castro intercepted Mac Baracael’s inbound with 2.3 ticks left, a defensive gem capping his personal season-best 31-point game.