At A Glance
- CJ Cansino provided the spark in the second half as Meralco ended NLEX's winning run with a 108-92 victory to boost its playoff hopes in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup at the PhilSports Arena on Sunday, May 25.
CJ Cansino provided the spark in the second half as Meralco ended NLEX’s winning run with a 108-92 victory to boost its playoff hopes in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup at the PhilSports Arena on Sunday, May 25.
Scoreless through the first two quarters, Cansino came alive in the second half and fired all of his 20 points to help the Bolts create the much-needed separation and more importantly pick up the win in their penultimate assignment in the eliminations.
The Bolts improved to an even 5-5 record but are still needing one more win to rack up six wins which should be enough to keep the team in contention for the playoffs regardless of the results of the other teams.
Playing on a compressed schedule due to its commitment to representing the PBA in the BCL Asia next month, Meralco is closing out the eliminations next week against Barangay Ginebra.
And that’s only why Meralco displayed some sense of urgency in the contest as the Bolts unloaded a 16-5 run in the third frame to seize control after a 54-all affair.
Meralco just kept NLEX at bay from that point as Cansino also got ample help from the rest of the Bolts.
Chris Newsome, after being limited to just five points in the first half, also got his bearings going in the last two quarters to still lead the scoring with 21 points. Bong Quinto added 18 while Chris Banchero chipped in 16.
Robert Bolick fired 22 to lead NLEX but was not enough to help his team extend its six-game winning streak. Kevin Alas and JB Bahio had 14 apiece.