Bong Quinto knocked nine of his 18 points in the last period as the Meralco Bolts weathered a late comeback by Terrafirma Dyip to pull off an 86-83 victory on Wednesday night in the 2024 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Quinto shot his remaining baskets inside the last two minutes, pushing the Bolts to sixth place in the team standings with their third win in six games.
Drawing a foul from Javi Gomez de Liano in the last five seconds, Quinto connected with a split charity shot, while Cliff Hodge’s rebound later kept the ball in the Bolts’ possession in the remaining time.
“They (Terrafirma) were really playing well. Nahirapan kami du’n. We just had to duke it out,” said Bolts’ coach Luigi Trillo.
Dyip, with Stephen Holt and Juami Tiongson showing the way with 20 points apiece, now share the same 3-3 slate with the Bolts.
Holt knocked in nine points in the last quarter, with his two charities in the last six seconds allowing Dyip stay in the thick of the fight at 83-85.
Holt’s two charities in the remaining 2:20 seconds saw Dyip grabbing the lead for fifth and last time, 81-79.
But a three-pointer from Quinto with 2:01 to go handed back the lead to the Bolts, 82-81.
Norbert Torres sank 15 points, including 10 in the last 10 minutes, while Raymund Almazan fired 14.
Torres’ triple in the final 4:53 saw the Bolts in front by five, 79-74.
The Scores:
MERALCO 86 – Quinto 18, Torres 15, Almazan 14, Black 7, Mendoza 7, Newsome 7, Banchero 6, Maliksi 6, Hodge 4, Pascual 2, Jose 0, Rios 0
TERRAFIRMA 83 – Tiongson 20, Holt 20, Gomez de Liano 11, Ramos 11, Sangalang 6, Go 4, Camson 4, Carino 4, Cahilig 3, Mina 0, Calvo 0, Alolino 0
QUARTERS: 19-25, 39-46, 63-65, 86-83