Meralco pushed to the brink of elimination after 2nd FIBA Champions Cup loss

MANILA, Philippines — The Meralco Bolts absorbed their second straight loss in the FIBA Asia Champions Cup after a 73-84 decision against Alvark Tokyo in Friday afternoon's skirmishes at the Stadium 29 in Nonthaburi, Thailand.

The Bolts’ scoring woes took another dip as the production heavily came from imports Allen Durham and Diamond Stone, combining for 59 makers.

None among Meralco's local crew was able to churn out a double-digit scoring performance. Reynel Hugnatan had the most among the bunch with just six points. Baser Amer only had five after tallying 18 in the opener.

Alvark, for its part, drew a balanced scoring with foreign reinforcement Alex Kirk leading the charge with 23 points. Tanaka Daiki added 17 while Kojima Genki chimed in 12 more.

The Bolts enjoyed a lead at halftime but that edge was swiftly taken away from them as the second half commenced.

Meralco is now 0-2 in the club competition and is staring at an uphill climb in order to survive. They need a loss by previous tormentor Mono Vampire against Lebanese powerhouse and defending champion Al Riyadi, and for Alvark to go unscathed in Group B play.

That would force a three-way tie and will propel the Bolts to a second place—off quotient system—that affords them a semifinal round.

The Scores
Alvark 84 - Kirk 23, Tanaka 17, Kojima 12, Ando 9, Bjelica 8, Takeuchi 8, Baba 6, Kikuchi 1, Saito 0, Shonaka 0.
Meralco 73 - Durham 31, Stone 28, Hugnatan 6, Amer 5, Lanete 3, Canaleta 0, Jamito 0, Ballesteros 0, Caram 0, Tolomia 0.
Quarters: 19-17, 37-35, 60-56, 84-73.