BY: REYNALD MAGALLON
Allein Maliksi took charge in the final frame as Meralco shocked San Miguel, 92-89, in the PBA on Tour at the jampacked Tiaong Convention Center in Quezon on Saturday, June 10.
After being limited to just six points in a cold-shooting first half, Maliksi sizzled and unloaded 15 of his 21 points in the final two quarters, including five straight-points that gave the Bolts a much-needed separation in the waning minutes.
The veteran gunner fired five triples in the contest, none bigger than the one he nailed with 2:44 left, capping a pivotal 7-0 run that gave Meralco a 90-84 cushion – a lead which proved to be enough to survive another late run from SMB Bong Quinto chipped in 19 points while Raymond Almazan also left his imprint on the floor with 14 points and 14 rebounds.
Orchestrating the attack for the Bolts was Anjo Caram who added 11 points and seven assists.
Despite trailing by six in the last two minutes, however, the Beermen refused to go down without a fight as the returning Jericho Cruz pulled SMB within three, 93-89, with 33 seconds left.
Meralco, though, bared its defensive fangs in SMB’s ensuing possession as Jansen Rios foiled an Allyn Bulanadi triple try that could have tied the game with five seconds left.
Cruz announced his return to SMB with 19 points while Bulanadi and Marvin Lee took the scoring cudgels with 18 points as the Beermen missed the services of its top scorer Terrence Romeo.
