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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Meralco inches closer to quarters bonus; Abueva erupts as Titan remains alive

Meralco inches closer to quarters bonus; Abueva erupts as Titan remains alive

Published Dec 14, 2025 10:50 pm

At A Glance

  • Meralco proved too much for Converge and scored a 105-84 win to get closer to a quarterfinal incentive in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo Sunday evening, Dec. 14.
CJ Cansino stars for Meralco. (PBA Images)
CJ Cansino stars for Meralco. (PBA Images)
Meralco proved too much for Converge and scored a 105-84 win to get closer to a quarterfinal incentive in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo Sunday evening, Dec. 14.
The Bolts came out with a rousing performance after securing a 33-7 first-quarter lead which they stretched to 31, 69-38, in the third.
On top of extending its streak to three games, Meralco has now forged a tie with Converge with both teams sporting a 6-4 slate, just a game behind No. 3 Magnolia and No. 4 TNT.
CJ Cansino produced another spectacular showing of 29 points which went with five rebounds, while Cliff Hodge logged 18 points, five rebounds, and two assists to banner Meralco. Aaron Black, for his part, had 16 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
Raymond Almazan and Chris Newsome added 14 and 10 points for the Bolts who will face the San Miguel Beermen (7-2) this Friday, Dec. 19, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
Super rookie Juan Gómez de Liaño collected 27 points, five rebounds, five assists, and one steal, while Justin Arana and Justine Baltazar chipped in 19 and 14 points, for Converge, which battles NLEX (6-4) Wednesday, Dec. 17.
Meanwhile, Calvin Abueva flashed his vintage form, while Joshua Munzon sank the four-point dagger to anchor Titan Ultra over Phoenix, 127-119, and keep its playoff hopes alive in the all-Filipino conference.
Tied at 117 with 47 seconds left in the fourth, the Giant Risers dropped a 10-2 bomb, a combined scoring effort from Munzon, Fran Yu and Calvin Abueva, who capped it off with a dunk, to completely leave the gritty Fuel Masters side behind.
The win gave Titan Ultra another opportunity to keep up its campaign going as it improved to 4-6 at ninth spot with its last game set against Barangay Ginebra (5-4) on Dec. 21, while Phoenix settled for a 3-8 card.
At 37, Abueva proved he had a lot of gas left in his tank after pouring 35 points - six points shy from his career-high scoring - while also collecting 17 rebounds, four assists, one block, and two steals.
Munzon and Aris Dionisio uncorked 21 points each, while Yu posted a double-double of 14 points and 10 assists with five rebounds. Jerrick Balanza and Cade Flores added 17 and 14 points, respectively, for Titan Ultra.
Jason Perkins topscored for Phoenix after registering 24 points along with five rebounds, and seven assists, while Bryan Santos and Christian Tio contributed 18 and 16 points in a losing cause.
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