THE Meralco Bolts had to shake off some rust following a 16-day lay-off but in the end showed why they were the tournament leaders thus far.
With its place at the top at stake, the Bolts rose to the occasion down the stretch to come through against a gutsy challenge from the Mahindra enforcers and post a hard-fought 94-86 victory in the 2016 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Cliff Hodge was in his element, playing big with a game-high 25 points and 11 rebounds, for a double-double, on top of three assists to lead the Bolts to the tough win against the feisty Enforcers.
The pace-setting Bolts are now in a better position to clinch one of the top seeds which presents a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals along with it. They remain at the top with their 7-2 card with two games left on their schedule.
“It was a big win for us. This keeps in first place,” said Meralco coach Norman Black.
It was a game of spurts throughout and it was Meralco who had the last laugh in the most crucial stretch and Hodge was at the forefront of it.
Trailing 78-84 with under five minutes left, the Bolts were on the verge of losing their third game but they had other plans in mind.
Meralco stepped it up and ended the game with burly finishing kick. It unleashed a 16-2 run in the final four minutes to blank Mahindra and snatch the victory emphatically.
The game was still up for grabs with under a minute left as Meralco’s edge was just three, 89-86, but Hodge’s three-point play with 48 seconds left cemented the win for his squad as the Bolts’ lead was stretched to a safer 92-86 count.
“Mahindra played us very, very tough,” admitted Black. “I was a little concern also for this game. We’re coming off a 16-day lay-off and that’s very long.”
Games Tuesday (Smart Araneta Coliseum):
4:15 p.m. – NLEX vs. San Miguel
7 p.m. – GlobalPort vs. Rain or Shine