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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Meralco zaps Converge with huge fourth quarter assault

Meralco zaps Converge with huge fourth quarter assault

Published Jun 16, 2022 10:08 pm

Meralco used a huge fourth quarter assault to zap Converge, 90-74, and join early leaders in the standings of the PBA Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Thursday, June 16.

Aaron Black shoots the lights out en route a 25-point outing in Meralco's 90-74 victory over Converge. (Photo from PBA)

The Bolts pulled away early in the final frame as Aaron Black, Allein Maliksi and Chris Newsome shot the lights out and powered the team’s back-breaking 23-7 blast to open the payoff period and pick up their second win in as many games.

Black exploded with 25 points on 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc while Maliksi fired 22 points, built on five triples. Newsome also provided support with 19 markers.

More than the offensive explosion, Bolts head coach Norman Black said the team's defense and rebounding proved to be the difference in the game.

"The key to beating this team today was to do a good job with the rebounds. We came to this game and we understand that they averaged 57 rebounds a game. We don't want to be in the situation when you play good defense but you cannot get the rebounds so we wanted to finish off our defensive possessions with a rebound," said Black.

With the Bolts holding on to a slim 65-62 lead early in the payoff period, Maliksi triggered the telling run with a long bomb before Black scored again on a floater.

Meralco’s defense then smothered Converge, forcing it to turnovers and bad shots as the twin towers of Raymond Almazan and Cliff Hodge outplayed their younger counterparts in Justin Arana and Jeo Ambohot in the rebounding department.

Both Almazan and Hodge failed to break into the double-digits in scoring but collared 15 and 10 boards respectively, allowing the Bolts to further pad the lead which went as high as 20 points, 87-67, after a Black triple halfway through the final frame.

Converge managed to keep in step with Meralco in the first two quarters behind its outside sniping led by Taylor Browne who paced the FiberXers with 14 points.

The crew, however, lost steam in the second half as it absorbed its first lopsided defeat in the franchise after two close encounters in its first two losses for a 1-3 record.

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Meralco Bolts Converge FiberXers Aaron Black
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