MANILA – Meralco Bolts-Philippines fell short in their comeback try and suffered a 92-100 defeat to Mono Vampire of Thailand in the 2018 FIBA Asia Champions Cup on Thursday at Stadium 29 in Thailand.
After leading early, the Philippines lost their stream in the second half and allowed the Thais to unload triple after triple in the fourth period – opening their campaign on a sour note.
Ranidel de Ocampo and Jared Dillinger were out due to injuries while Clifford Hodge and Chris Newsome were ruled by FIBA as ineligible to play as locals, forcing the Philippines to play with a depleted lineup.
Diamond Stone unloaded 15 first-quarter points as the Philippines started strong with a 28-21 lead. Thailand rallied in the second to take a slim 35-34 lead, and then the Philippines got hits from Baser Amer and Reynel Hugnatan for a 50-47 halftime edge.
Thailand slowly got their shooting going in the third behind Michael Singletary and Marcus Keene, eventually surging to a 58-56 lead. The gap grew further 78-70 early in the fourth on 8 straight points from Keene.
The Thais went on to build their largest lead 92-82. The Philippine made their last push behind Amer and Allen Durham, coming to within 89-92, but back-to-back hits from Singletary sealed the win for Thailand.
Keene led the Thais with 29 points and eight assists as Singletary made double-double 25 points and 15 rebounds, and Darongpan Apiromvilaichai posted 13 markers.
Imports Stone and Durham finished with 23 and 20 points, respectively; Amer chipped in 18 markers, including three triples; and Hugnatan contributed 13 points for the Philippines./PN
