MANILA – Meralco Bolts banked on a huge fourth quarter assault to score a come-from-behind 86-83 victory over Terrafirma Dyip in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Down by double-digits early in the contest, the Bolts slowly carved their way back in the game until they took the lead at 72-71 on conversions from Norbert Torres and Kier John Quinto.
Meralco increased the lead to 76-71, but Terrafirma kept the match close and even took the lead for the last time at 81-79 on connections from Juan Miguel Tiongson and Stephen Holt.
Quinto then stepped up for the Bolts as he drilled a three-pointer to give the Bolts an 82-81 lead before following it up with a split free throw and an inside basket for an 85-81 edge with 14 seconds left.
The Dyip made its last push at 83-85 on two free throws by Holt with six seconds left, the Bolts widened it with a split free throw by Quinto before his teammates secured the offensive rebound, sealing the come-from-behind win.
Quinto led the way for the Bolts with 18 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, Torres chipped in 15 markers, with eight coming in the fourth quarter, while Raymond Almazan ended with 14 as they improved to a 3-3 record.
Bolts head coach Luigi Trillo credited Dyip for pushing them to the limit in the game as they hoped that their second consecutive win would start off their uprising in the season-ending conference.
“Hats off to Terrafirma, you noticed that they are playing very well and nahirapan talaga kami. They are an up-and-coming team, good thing we were able to gut it out,” said Trillo.
He added: “The thing with the players is parang they have the poise to do things well and I told them na hindi birong team ang Terrafirma, they are a good solid team, mayroon silang mga piyesa.”
Tiongson paced Dyip with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists, Holt chipped in 20 markers, while Aldrech Ramos and Javi Gomez de Liano contributed 11 points apiece./PN
BOX SCORE:
MERALCO 86 – Quinto 18, Torres 15, Almazan 14, Black 7, Mendoza 7, Newsome 7, Banchero 6, Maliksi 6, Hodge 4, Pascual 2, Jose 0, Rios 0.
TERRAFIRMA 83 – Tiongson 20, Holt 20, Gomez de Liano 11, Ramos 11, Sangalang 6, Go 4, Camson 4, Carino 4, Cahilig 3, Mina 0, Calvo 0, Alolino 0.
Quarterscores: 19-25, 39-46, 63-65, 86-83.
