After being ousted with their loss to Rain or Shine, the Meralco Bolts played their best game in the semis to spoil B-Meg’s bid to tie Rain or Shine at the top of the standings. The Bolt‘s blitzkrieg started in the first quarter where they led by 14 by the end of the first period. They continued to hold on to the lead for three quarters before surviving a serious rally by the B-Meg Llamados in the final period and win 104-101.
With a less than a minute left and trailing 89-96, the Llamados unleashed a 9-3 onslaught to cut down the lead to a solitary point at 98-99. Asi Taulava surprised B-Meg, who were expecting their opponents to call a time bout, by issuing an excellent outlet pass to Chris Ross that resulted to a completed three point play off a Josh Urbiztondo foul. The lead was at four 102-98 when James Yap banked a three point shot with 3.9 seconds left and once again cut down the lead to just 1 point. B-Meg immediately fouled Taulava in the ensuing play. The Meralco big men split his charities for a 103-101 lead. Without a time out left, Coach Tim Cone paid with a technical foul to be able to draw up a final play. Meralco made the technical free throw for the final margin as B-Meg’s gamble did not payoff as Ross disrupted their final play.
Solomon Mercado top scored for the winners with 30 points along with five assists, and three steals. Import Mario West played above the rim and made several dunks to end up with 29 points. Marcus Blakely and James Yap combined 52 points to lead the Llamados.
The win was the first for the Bolts in the semifinals, they now sport a 5-8 record. The loss was B-Meg’s first in the semis and they are now level with the streaking Barangay Ginebra Kings at 8-4, a game behind Rain or Shine. B-Meg will battle Ginebra on Sunday to earn at least a playoff for a finals spot.
The scores:
MERALCO 104 – Mercado 30, West 29, Ross 18, Cardona 11, Taulava 9, Macapagal 3, Timberlake 2, Reyes 2.
B-MEG 101 – Blakely 30, Yap 22, Simon 13, Barroca 11, De Ocampo 11, Urbiztondo 6, Pingris 5, Villanueva 3, Reavis 0.
Quarters: 31-17, 54-43, 77-63, 104-101
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