Sports

Bolts claim crucial win in race to land in top half of playoff draw


Aaron Black (right) overtakes San Miguel June giants Mar Fajardo to perform a reverse.  — PBA . IMAGES

Aaron Black (right) overtakes San Miguel June giants Mar Fajardo to perform a reverse. — PBA . IMAGES

Meralco kept it together in the most crucial moments Sunday night to overtake San Miguel Beer, 89-86, and the win means a bit of an addition to the entire Bolts organization.

Allein Maliksi and Aaron Black scored the last 10 points for the Bolts in the final two minutes as Meralco bounced back from a loss a few nights back to secure a straight spot in the knockout stages of the Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, and more importantly , stay in goodness the upper half of the draw which will be very important in the quarterfinals.

Meralco also denied San Miguel their final elimination win, taking a six-game winning streak against the Beermen just as they were preparing for the first round, where they played the most underrated qualifier.

But more importantly, the Bolts scored a win for grieving head coach Norman Black, whose mother Bessie passed away last Friday.

Barangay Ginebra, with coach Tim Cone back calling the shots, returned to NorthPort, 100-93, to claim a two-game losing streak.

The win is the seventh in 10 games for the Gin Kings, securing them a spot in the middle of the group and a best-of-three quarterfinal series.

Maliksi finished with 18 points and 8 rebounds while Chris Newsome added 16 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

The younger Black, for his part, was equally excellent, scoring 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists. He also hit a triple that gave the Bolts an 88-83 advantage with 50 ticks left.

“That’s her (Mrs. Bessie),” said the energetic third-year guard. “We were very lucky to have punched a hole at the end of the game. We really need that win badly. “

The win improved Meralco’s record to 6-4, putting the club in the middle of the pack. It will also increase the grease for the Bolts going into Thursday’s game against Terrafirma, which could give the club a chance to tighten their grip in the best of three quarterfinals.

“You look at the Top 6, whenever you’re in [No. 3] to 6, it’s not twice to beat but one in three. And that’s all we could ask for,” said Beermen assistant coach Luigi Trillo, who called shots in the Black senior’s absence.

“We are all playing for the coach. He means a lot to our organization. He is like a best friend to me. He is very mean. And [Aaron] also. We thank him because he can easily be there [in the United States]but decided to stay here to help us,” he continued.

“Obviously Coach Norman hasn’t come to us yet. We want to put him in a good situation so that when he comes back, at least we’re ready, right? “

Jun Mar Fajardo, the highest-rated six-timer, had 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Beermen. INQ

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