Bolts thwart Fuel Masters for pivotal win

MANILA, Philippines -- The Meralco Bolts pushed Phoenix to the brink of the elimination with a crucial 82-76 PBA Philippine Cup win Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Aaron Black sparked the Bolts with 18 points, four rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block. Chris Newsome added 15 points and six rebounds before exiting the game with seconds remaining.

Meralco led by as much as 11 points, 75-64, at the 4:30 mark of the frame with a layup by Cliff Hodge.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by RR Garcia lit a fire under the Fuel Masters as the 8-0 run was capped by a pair of free throws by Ken Tuffin.

After a big turnover by Newsome in the next possession, Garcia committed an error of his own, leading to a layup by Allein Maliksi to give the Bolts a 77-72 lead with 1:26 remaining.

Javee Mocon made up for a turnover of his own and made a layup to tow Phoenix to a three point lead, 74-77, with 42.6 ticks left.

A Chris Banchero midrange jumper on the other end gave Meralco a comfortable five-point cushion, 79-74, with 22.8 seconds to go.

A long-range jumpshot by Tuffin gave the Fuel Masters a fighting chance, but upon review, he was found to have stepped on the line, making it a two pointer, 76-79.

Free throws by Bong Quinto iced the game for the Bolts.

Banchero and Maliksi chipped in 14 and 13 markers for the winning team.
Tuffin had 14 points in the losing effort.

With the game hanging in the balance at the end of the first half, Meralco turned up the heat and outscored Phoenix 26 to 15 to grab a 60-53 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

A slow start by the Fuel Masters gave the Bolts the big double-digit advantage that they held on to through the final buzzer.

“That team has no quit in them. We’re both down in the team standings right now, so every game is important. We know both teams’ backs are against the wall, something’s gonna give. You lose one, they’re probably out of it already,” head coach Luigi Trillo told reporters after the game.

“It’s hard to knock out a team like Phoenix, they have injuries all around, you look at [Tyler] Tio not there, some guys not there, obviously, the best import. Different team, but you saw they were sharp today with the way they played,” he added.

With the win, Meralco arrested its two-game losing streak and now holds a 4-5 win-loss record, just inside the playoff picture.

The Fuel Masters, on the other hand, dropped to 3-7.