Sports

Bolts slay Dragons to rescusitate Commissioner’s Cup campaign


Meralco imports KJ McDaniels.  –PBA PHOTOS SMALL

Meralco imports KJ McDaniels. –PBA PHOTOS SMALL

It looks like things are conspiring against Meralco heading into Friday night.

With just one win showing in six games, the Bolts need to revitalize their PBA Commissioners Cup campaign by taking on the Dragons of Bay Area, who have lost just once in their previous seven games. .

Fortunately, a “flow of fresh air” helped Meralco go.

The Bolts kept it together in the most crucial moments to outlast the Dragons, 92-89 and pocket a much-needed win at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

It was only the second win for Meralco, but for coach Norman Black it was a big boost for a team that needed to look down on a 50-point effort from the Bay Area’s Andrew Nicholson.

“That’s what we talked about: Anything can always happen, right? Even with all the adversities we’re facing right now,” Black said, referring to the manpower issue that’s dogged the team because of injuries and the failure of the original imported Johnny O’Bryant. to find your chance.

Half of those issues were resolved with the arrival of KJ McDaniels, who took part in training for the Bolts just last Tuesday. The too-small imports are prominently displayed in the gallant position, knocking down basket after basket and taking up 9 of Meralco’s final 13 points, which has caused the Dragons to set an insurmountable pace. via.

“With KJ coming in, we thought we were getting some fresh air and it would give us a chance to win,” Black said of his new team, who previously played for TNT and NLEX. .

Behind McDaniels’ 31 points are Raymond Almazan, Allein Maliksi, Chris Banchero and Bong Quinto, all of which finished at doubles, effectively filling the production gap left by injured pillars Chris Newsome and Cliff Hodge leave.

“Trust my teammates, they picked me up and they still believe in me. They told me to keep shooting,” McDaniels said.

“[T]people with faucets — they picked me up when I lost during the game. Lucky to be back. I’m happy to get a W against a top team,” he continued.

In addition to Nicholson’s 50, the Dragons drew fire from Kobey Lam, who had 23 points.

But no other Bay Area player has more than five points.

“One thing I’m very happy about… is that we really played defensively tonight, which is something we’ve never done at this tournament,” Black said.

Meralco may have benefited from an important missed call during this time.

Down three in the final 21 seconds, Gulf captain Glen Yang missed a three three that the Bolts recovered. But Meralco failed to cross the halfway line in eight seconds, a violation that the referee overlooked.

Reference is suspended

The PBA’s technical committee said it had pointed out who was at fault and commissioner Willie Marcial added the referee would be suspended.

However, Bay Area coach Brian Goorjian didn’t let that late streak detract from the way his invisible opponent fought with poise.

“[T]His team really pushed our boys and really challenged them — catching the ball, dribbling, moving the ball. It was really hard for us and they were forced to change a lot. And then they are very physical on the glass. And those two things really hurt [us],” he told reporters on his way out of the venue. Later in the night, Rain or Shine closed in on NorthPort, 76-75.

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