Baser Amer erupted for 14 of his 27 points in the third quarter as Meralco extended the woes of Alaska, 101-75, Friday in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The four-year guard made four triples in the period as the Bolts broke loose from a tight 43-37 halftime lead on their way to winning for the second time in three matches this conference.
Amer accounted for six of the 9 threes Meralco made, and coach Norman Black is hoping that the rest can improve their own abilities from downtown.
“The game’s always easy when you make three-point shots,” said Black, noting how top teams like NLEX, TNT KaTropa and San Miguel Beer started their conferences strong due to their consistent clip from long range.
“Baser really breaks loose and a lot of outside shots for us. That opened the game for us,” Black added.
Two-time Best Import Allen Durham had 25 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists while Raymond Almazan added 15 points and nine rebounds as the Bolts bounced back from a 105-99 loss to the Road Warriors last Sept. 25.
Meralco also won the first of a stretch of two games in three days, with Phoenix Pulse next on the schedule this Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“This is a big weekend for us so we consider this as a good bounce-back win coming off a loss to NLEX,” said Black.
Chris Banchero and Simon Enciso scored 12 points but the Aces remained winless after four games under new coach Jeffrey Cariaso.
New import Franko House struggled in his debut with eight points on 3-of-13 shooting, 11 rebounds and six assists.
House and the Aces can only hope that the performance will be an aberration rather than the norm Sunday when they face the defending champion Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok.
