By JONAS TERRADO
THE shorthanded Meralco Bolts had no answer for the fiery assault of host Mono Vampire in the fourth quarter and absorbed a 100-92 beating at the start of the FIBA Asia Champions Cup campaign at Stadium 29 in Nonthaburi, Thailand.
Meralco trailed by as many as 10 points in the fourth as 5-foot-9 American import Marcus Keene scored big shots to help Mono spoil the PBA squad’s debut in the annual club competition.
Keene hit 11 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter to steadily pull away after the third quarter ended at 70-all.
Import Allen Durham and Baser Amer tried to stage a Meralco comeback in the final three minutes, scoring seven straight points to pull within 92-89 with 1:49 remaining.
But Keene drained a pull-up jumper over Anjo Caram and former PBA reinforcement Mike Singletary scored to make it 96-89 Mono, 55.9 seconds left.
Six-foot-ten import Diamond Stone, a late replacement for injured 7-foot-2 import Liam McMorrow, scored 15 of his 23 points in the first quarter but was dealing with a foul trouble that also played a role in Meralco’s defeat.
It didn’t help that the Bolts were left to play sans key mainstays Chris Newsome and Cliff Hodge, who were ruled ineligible to suit up as local players for failing to meet a FIBA rule that requires Fil-foreigners to secure a Philippine passport before the age of 16.
Meralco was already missing veterans Jared Dillinger and Ranidel de Ocampo to injuries before arriving in the Thai city last Tuesday.
With the loss, the Bolts need to win their remaining two games to keep their semifinal hopes alive in Group B, though they’ll have a major task ahead beginning with this afternoon’s meeting with Japan’s Alvark Tokyo.
They’ll close out the group stage tomorrow evening against defending champion Al-Riyadi of Lebanon.
SANGALANG GETS NEW MAGNOLIA DEAL
Meantime, Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok forward Ian Sangalang has signed a fresh three-year deal with the franchise worth R15.12 million, a team official said yesterday.
Rene Pardo, the team’s representative to the PBA board, said that Sangalang signed the dotted line Wednesday afternoon prior to the team’s game against Rain or Shine at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Magnolia won the game 92-76 for a 3-1 card as Sangalang collected 13 points and six rebounds.
“We’re happy to sign him to a new contract,” said Pardo, a former PBA chairman.
“Ian is only 26 years old, so you cannot go wrong with that because he’s young and he’s really improving his game,” he added.
The team, then known as San Mig Super Coffee, selected Sangalang with the second overall pick during the 2013 PBA Rookie Draft behind 7-footer Greg Slaughter, who went to Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.
The 6-foot-7 Sangalang is averaging almost 10 points and five rebounds. He was part of the team that won the Grand Slam – the league’s version of a triple crown – in 2014 under then coach Tim Cone. (With a report from Waylon Galvez)