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Meralco zaps Converge for winning debut in Comm's Cup

Sports | Basketball

Meralco zaps Converge for winning debut in Comm's Cup

By Reynald I. Magallon

At A Glance

Meralco bucked a slow start and then blew past Converge, 109-88 for a winning debut in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner's Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Wednesday, March 18.

Meralco bucked a slow start and then blew past Converge, 109-88 for a winning debut in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Wednesday, March 18.

The Bolts had to shake off the cobwebs early on but when they got their bearings going, there was simply no looking back as they handed the FiberXers their second straight loss in three outings.

Only up by three, 55-52, early in the third, the Bolts went on a searing 17-3 rally to break the game wide open and notch their first win in the mid-season conference

CJ Cansino spearheaded the assault for Meralco, catching fire from deep with three triples and two fours to score 20 of his 23 points in the second half.

Import Marvin Jones also made quite an impression in his first PBA game, posting 29 points and eight rebounds while veteran Chris Newsome chipped in 19 — including a one-handed dunk over Converge’s 7-foot import Kylor Kelly to help his team shake off the jitters during the slow start.

The FiberXers played without star rookie Juan Gomez de Liano although Alec Stockton tried to pick up the slack in his absence with 18 points.

Justin Arana finished with 16 points while Justine Baltazar chipped in 12 points and 15 rebounds. Kelly only had 13 points though he tried to make up for it on the defensive end with nine rebounds and five blocks.

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