MANILA, Philippines – Rookie Mac Belo had another impressive game, and veteran guard Denok Miranda hit the go-ahead lay-up, as the Blackwater Elite stunned the Meralco Bolts, 86-84, to improve to 2-0 in the 2016-17 PBA Philippine Cup on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.
Belo scored 12 of his game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter, including a booming triple that tied the game at 84 with 1:40 to go.
It was the veteran Miranda who drained the game-winner, however, twisting to the basket for a difficult lay-up to put the Elite ahead for good, 86-84, with 4.2 seconds left.
Denok for the lead! pic.twitter.com/HX46frbzei
— Camille B. Naredo (@camillenaredo) November 27, 2016
At 2-0, Blackwater is now off to the best start in franchise history.
"In this game, against Meralco, we had to show some character. We had to show that we are the team that we want to be," Blackwater coach Leo Isaac said after the game. "Challenged by Meralco all the way, but Denok Miranda was able to hit a difficult drive, and Mac Belo was there for the crunch time plays."
"Defensively, we held our own against a very good Meralco team. It's a good start for Blackwater, the first ever 2-0 start in any conference," he added.
Meralco, coming off its first-ever Finals stint in last season's Governors' Cup, zoomed to a 73-68 lead to open the fourth quarter, but found that they had no answer for the rookie Belo. The forward out of Far Eastern University tied the game at 77 with a three-pointer at the 6:08 mark.
Back-to-back buckets from Newsome and Cliff Hodge made it 81-77 for the Bolts, but Belo scored anew to make it a one-possession game, 79-81, with still 3:20 left to play.
Three free throws by Hodge padded Meralco's lead to five, 84-79, with 2:26 to go, but it would be the last time that the Bolts would get on the board.
Nard Pinto scored on a difficult reverse to make it a one-possession game, 81-84, and with 1:40 left, Belo fired the game-tying three-pointer.
Meralco blew several chances to retake the lead, with Kelly Nabong committing an offensive foul off a timeout, and rookie Jonathan Grey misfiring on a three-pointer. After Belo missed a lay-up with 40 seconds left, Hodge muffed a lay-up of his own, and Belo soundly rejected Reynel Hugnatan's attempt at a follow-up.
Belo saved the possession for Blackwater pic.twitter.com/5LvUOmbc0p
— Camille B. Naredo (@camillenaredo) Nobyembre 27, 2016
"The last play, it was an option for anybody," Isaac said. "It could have been the other four guys who could have taken the last shot, but the veteran that he is, Denok Miranda rose up to the challenge."
The Bolts got off to a slow start but were energized by the entry of Grey, who scored seven points in less than a minute to give his team the lead at the end of the first quarter. He drained a three-pointer at the buzzer to put Meralco on top 27-22 after the opening frame.
In a back-and-forth second quarter that featured fast-paced basketball, the Elite regained a 34-33 lead off a triple by Dylan Ababou, but the Bolts took control anew off buckets from Justin Chua and Jared Dillinger. A lay-up by Reynel Hugnatan off a nifty pass from Newsome made it a five-point game, 41-36, though the Elite got some momentum heading into the break after Reil Cervantes drained a three-pointer in their final possession of the first half.
After scoring only four points in the first two frames, Belo came alive in the third, scoring nine points. Miranda's triple with 14 seconds left put Blackwater ahead, 68-65, though Meralco was able to cut the lead to just one point after Rabeh Al-Hussaini scored off a feed from Grey.
It appeared that the Bolts had taken control of the game after they scored six unanswered points to open the fourth quarter, but Belo was quick to respond and it soon turned into a back-and-forth contest.
Belo shot 9-of-16 from the field and added six rebounds, three steals, and two blocks to his stat line. Miranda finished with 11 points, while Kyle Pascual had 13 markers for the Elite, who shot 42% from the field and scored 20 points off Meralco's 21 turnovers.
Hodge led Meralco with a near triple-double of 14 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists, while Newsome and Grey each scored 11.
The scores:
BLACKWATER 86 - Belo 25, Pascual 13, Miranda 11, Dela Cruz 8, Sena 6, Pinto 5, Aguilar 5, Cervantes 5, Forrester 3, Ababou 3, Gamalinda 2, Banal 0, Buenafe 0.
MERALCO 84 - Hodge 14, Grey 11, Newsome 11, Al-Hussaini 9, Amer 8, Daquioag 6, Hugnatan 6, Yeo 5, Chua 4, Faundo 4, Nabong 4, Dillinger 2.
Quarter scores: 22-27, 39-41, 68-67, 86-84
(For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.)
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