MANILA – Chris Banchero caught fire in the fourth quarter as Meralco Bolts kicked out NLEX Road Warriors, 100-81, in Game 2 of the PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals on Sunday night at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Holding to a slim 76-70 lead after three quarters, the Bolts pulled away in the final period with consecutive points from Banchero to stretch the advantage to 86-75 with over seven minutes left.
Meralco’s run continued with more conversions from Bachero, followed by attacks from Clifford Hodge and Kier John Quinto for the largest lead of 22 points at 100-78 with under two minutes left.
Banchero tallied 23 points, with 16 coming in the final quarter, to go with seven rebounds and six assists for the Bolts, which will face the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings in the best-of-seven semifinals.
Hodge and Allein Maliksi added 14 markers apiece, Kier John Quinto finished with 13 points, and Chris Newsome and Raymond Almazan also submitted double-digit outputs of 12 and 10, respectively, for the Bolts, which finished off the Road Warriors, 2-0.
Robert Bolick Jr. spearheaded the Road Warriors with 18 points, Dominick Fajardo contributed 15 markers, and Robbie Herndon and Richie Rodger ended with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Gin Kings, on the other hand, needed only one game to eliminate Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots, with a 99-77 rout due to their twice-to-beat quarterfinals incentive.
Barangay Ginebra had been in control since the opening period as they cruised to a 28-17 lead. It later grew to 52–36 edge at the half, courtesy of inside shots by Christian Standhardinger.
The dominance of the Gin Kings continued in the second half, with Ralph Cu, Standhardinger, and Japeth Aguilar attacking the paint as the lead grew to as high as 25 points in the fourth quarter.
Standhardinger tallied 36 points and 11 rebounds, Maverick Ahanmisi added 16 markers, Aguilar and Cu contributed 12 and 11, respectively, and Earl Scottie Thompson chipped in 11 points, 10 assists, seven steals, and six rebounds for the Gin Kings./PN
BOX SCORE:
MERALCO 100 – Banchero 23, Hodge 14, Maliksi 14, Quinto 13, Newsome 12, Almazan 10, Caram 5, Torres 5, Pasaol 2, Bates 2, Dario 0.
NLEX 81 – Bolick 18, Fajardo 15, Herndon 11, Rodger 10, Semerad 9, Amer 5, Marcelo 5, Valdez 5, Miranda 3, Nieto 0, Anthony 0.
Quarterscores: 27-26, 52-49, 76-70, 100-81.
