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| Marqus Blakely and Gary David led their respective teams to wins this past Friday night. |
Game recap (adapted from InterAKTV):
MERALCO BOLTS over KIA CARNIVAL, 90-80
Box Scores.
The Meralco Bolts trailed by as much as 11 points in the first half but finally found its rhythm to pick up a 90-80 victory over expansion team Kia in PBA Commissioner’s Cup action on Friday at the Cuneta Astrodome.
Gary David scored 25 points, including nine in the fourth quarter and import Josh Davis added 19 to help lead the Bolts to a second consecutive win.
In the absence of Mike Cortez, who sat out due to a right knee injury, Jai Reyes filled in the point guard role admirably, finishing with 16 points, including three triples, and four assists.
It was a slow start for Meralco against Kia and its hulking 7-foot-3 import PJ Ramos. The Carnival built a double digit lead as early as the first period and even pushed their advantage to as high as 11, 25-14, after a three-pointer from the Kia reinforcement.
Ramos had 19 points and 10 rebounds by the halftime break, although their lead dwindled down to just two, 38-36. Ramos finished with 34 in the game.
Meralco, though, took control of the game in the third quarter after opening on a 15-4 run that made it, 51-42. The Bolts would later take their biggest lead of game at 61-48 after scoring 10 unanswered points – half of those from David.
Kia closed back to within a single point, 69-68, in the fourth quarter, but David scored five consecutive points to put some distance between the teams, 74-68.
Peter John Ramos finished with 34 points and 21 rebounds for the Carnival, while JR Buensuceso added 11 markers.
Line of the Game: Peter John Ramos (KIA) - 34pts, 21rebs, 1ast, 1blk, 12/22 FGs.
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| Gary David had a second straight strong showing as Meralco moved up to 2-0. |
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| Josh Davis was all-around awesome again for the Bolts. |
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| JR Buensuceso was one of the few bright spots for Kia. |
PUREFOODS STAR HOTSHOTS over GLOBALPORT BATANG PIER, 83-70
Box Scores.
Old reliable Marqus Blakely showed why he’s still one of the league’s best imports, putting up 26 points, 18 rebounds, and 7 blocks to lift defending champion Purefoods Star Hotshots to an 83-70 victory over GlobalPort Batang Pier in PBA Commissioner’s Cup action Friday night at Cuneta Astrodome.
The undersized Blakely, Purefoods’ import for the past two editions of Governors’ Cup, is temporarily filling in as the team awaits for the arrival of Daniel Orton. He stamped his class as early as the first quarter where he registered 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists and three blocks.
Blakely also outmatched his taller counterpart CJ Leslie, who led GlobalPort with 25 points and eight rebounds.
The Hotshots were just up by one after the first quarter, 21-20, and held a seven-point lead, 41-34, late in the second quarter as they couldn’t break away from a gutsy Batang Pier squad.
A Terrence Romeo layup eventually put GlobalPort up, 42-41, early in the third period. But a 16-0 run led by Blakely lifted Purefoods to a commanding 57-42 cushion.
The Hotshots had extended their advantage to as much as 18, 68-50, with 8:16 left in the game before GlobalPort launched a 12-5 run capped by a Leslie three-pointer to keep Batang Pier within 11, 73-62.
But the Hotshots ignited a 10-3 Purefoods spurt punctuated by a Blakely alley-oop slam that gave them the lead for good.
Mark Barroca scored 11 points and 8 rebounds, while Alex Mallari had 10 markers as they filled the void left by veteran PJ Simon, who sat out the game due to back spasms.
Romeo added 19 points in GlobalPort’s losing effort as they failed to have a 2-0 start to the conference and failed to beat Purefoods for the first time in franchise history.
Line of the Game: Marqus Blakely (PUR) - 26pts, 19rebs, 7blks, 4asts, 3stls, 11/19 FGs.
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| Mark Barroca helped the Hotshots start strong in the Commish Cup. |
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| Once again, Marqus Blakely was the bulwark of the Purefoods Star offense. |
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| Stanley Pringle shot a woeful 2/12 from the floor for GlobalPort. |
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