Tony Bishop sizzles anew as Meralco holds off Ginebra to keep record clean

Meralco held off Barangay Ginebra San Miguel behind another stellar performance from import Tony Bishop and secured a 101-95 win Sunday, Feb. 13 to keep its perfect slate intact in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Bishop scored 30 points while adding 13 rebounds and seven assists as the Bolts shook off repeated attempts by the Gin Kings to take the lead in the fourth quarter and improve to a 4-0 record in the season-ending conference.
The hustle plays of Cliff Hodge and a solid debut by new addition Chris Banchero also helped Meralco join idle Magnolia Pambansang Manok atop the standings after the first week of the resumption.
“We had to gut it out,” said Meralco coach Norman Black. “It wasn't a very pretty victory, being quite honest with you. We didn't shoot the ball that well, and we didn't execute that well offensively.
“But I think we strung together some stops in the second half that allowed us to separate a little bit, and allowed us to win the game,” added Black.
Hodge had eight points, eight rebounds, three assists and one steal after a usual display of energy on both ends of the floor.
He had a big part in perhaps the decisive moment of the game when he grabbed the offensive rebound off Bishop’s missed attempt which kept the ball in Meralco’s possession.
Allein Maliksi would repay Hodge’s effort by knocking down a three that made it 99-91 for the Bolts with exactly two minutes to go.
Banchero posted 12 points, four rebounds and three assists in almost 24 minutes off the bench for his first appearance since signing for the Bolts as an unrestricted free agent a few weeks ago.
Chris Newsome added 12 points, five rebounds and seven assists and Maliksi added 11 for the Bolts.
Ginebra dropped to 3-2 after suffering its second straight defeat that started on Christmas Day against Magnolia.
Justin Brownlee posted 27 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists and two steals in the loss, Scottie Thompson tallied 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists while Christian Standhardinger added 17 points, five rebounds and four assists before being subbed out in the waning moments after he slipped at a wet spot on the floor.
The scores:
MERALCO 101 — Bishop 30, Newsome 12, Banchero 12, Maliksi 11, Almazan 8, Quinto 8, Hodge 8, Black 6, Caram 4, Hugnatan 2.
GINEBRA 95 — Brownlee 27, Thompson 18, Standhardinger 17, Aguilar 10, Tenorio 10, Tolentino 5, Chan 3, Pinto 2, Caperal 3.
Quarters: 29-22, 45-46, 79-76, 101-95.