By REYNALD MAGALLON
Meralco weathered a huge 48-point explosion from Robert Bolick and came away with a pulsating 97-93 victory over NLEX while Calvin Oftana and RR Pogoy took turns in leading TNT to a convincing 116-99 win over Rain or Shine to draw first bloods in their respective quarterfinals series in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup playoffs at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
After getting torched by Bolick in the first three quarters, the Bolts finally found a way to clamp down on the high-scoring guard in the final frame before Allein Maliksi made sure to hand the win to Meralco with crucial hits in the waning minutes.
With the Game 1 victory, Meralco is now a win away from a possible return trip to the semifinals. Game 2 of the series is on Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Maliksi led the way for Meralco with 22 points – seven of which he fired inside the final five minutes of the contest when his team finally took the driver’s seat after trailing by as many as 12 points in the first half.
While it was Maliksi who took the Bolts home, it was their defense that put him in the position to do so after the Bolts doubled their effort in denying and forcing Bolick to become a facilitator in the fourth quarter.
Meantime, the Tropang Giga pulled away in the second half as Oftana finished what Pogoy had started, anchoring a huge third quarter rally that set the tone to the romp that moved them on cusp of a semifinals return.
Oftana exploded for 32 points – 18 of which he poured in the third – built on five triples along with nine rebounds while Pogoy, who kept TNT in the tight first two quarters with his 17 points, provided support with 26.
Kelly Williams continued to turn back the hands of time, contributing a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds while Jayson Castro chipped in 11 off the bench.
The Tropang Giga can close out the series on Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Experience was very much evident on the part of the Tropang Giga who simply knew when to strike the telling blow after a see-saw affair in the first two and a half quarters.
