The Meralco Bolts locals kept in step with import Mario West to defeat the Petron Blaze Boosters, 89-83, on Friday at the Araneta Coliseum.
Reynel Hugnatan stepped up for the Bolts with 20 big points, as Mark Cardona sat out the game with an injured calf.
The Bolts built a quick 10-3 lead to start the first, before Elijah Millsap, Junemar Fajardo and Alex Cabagnot combined for a 12-point swing and a four-point lead, 14-10. Mario West was able to snap Meralco's dry spell with four points, bur Santos and Millsap were there to bump the lead back to six, 20-14. Doug Kramer and Rey Guevarra exchanged baskets, before Alex Cabagnot finished the quarter with back to back treys, the last one a buzzer beater from beyond half court, 28-16.
Five points from Ronald Tubid cancelled out five from Reynel Hugnatan and Sunday Salvacion. An 8-2 swing for the Bolts, punctuated by a West drive on the break, cut the lead to six, before Millsap popped in a three to give Petron some breathing room. Meralco ended the half with a 10-3 run to cut the lead to two, thanks to West drives and a Ross trey, 41-39.
Hugnatan tied the game to start the scoring in the third, but Junemar Fajardo quickly took it back to re-establish a Petron lead. Fajardo continued to find his mark, if he wasn't dishing to Arwind Santos for a four-point lead, 49-45. After a Millsap putback, Salvacion canned a corner three to cut the lead to half. Millsap and Santos bumped the lead back to seven, 59-52, before Ross and Salvacion strung five together, 59-57.
Denok Miranda got on the board for the first time, but baskets from Hugnatan and Ross knotted the game with less than two minutes remaining. An Allan Mangahas assist to Hugnatan powered Meralco ahead, before John Wilson completed a steal. On the break, Wilson found Salvacion for an and-one play and a five-point lead to end the third, 66-61.
A 6-2 blast to start the fourth brought Petron within one, 68-67, forcing Meralco to call a timeout. The Bolts leaned on Hugnatan after the break, as the big man bumped the lead back up to seven, 75-68. Every make by Fajardo and Santos were matched by Wilson's and Hugnatan's, as Meralco continued to hold on to a seven-point lead, 83-76.
After two more misses from the line, Hugnatan stretched the lead even further, before Santos tried to keep Petron in the game, 85-78. Petron had a chance to cut the lead even further, but a miss from Cabagnot, followed by a turnover from Santos, put the Bolts in a good position to seal the deal.
A split from the line from West made it an eight-point game with 49.3 remaining, 86-78, but Ronald Tubid scored a quick two to keep it interesting. Millsap was given a chance to cut the lead even further from the line, but he split form an 86-81 tally. Wilson hit two charities at the other end, as Marcio Lassiter hit another quick to to cut the lead to five with 16.8 left on the clock. Petron tried to play the fouling game, putting Wilson back on the line. The guard missed the first but made the second to give Meralco an 89-83 lead and the victory.
