Meralco Bolts win first game of PBA Season 49
Meralco Bolts has defeated the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots, 99-94 in the opening game of the PBA’s 49th Season.
Returning import Allen Durham led the Bolts with a double-double scoring 20 points and grabbing 16 rebounds.
Chris Banchero, who sank the first-ever four-pointer in PBA history, backed Durham with 14 points while Meralco’s captain Christ Newsome added 13 and energy-bunny Cliff Hodge chipped in 12 including nine rebounds and five assists.
Sophomore Jolo Mendoza also made an impact by scoring 13 including the second four-pointer of the game including 3-of-3 shooting from the arc. He even got an ovation from the fans when he was subbed out after giving quality minutes for his team.
On the other hand, Magnolia’s import Glenn Robinson III scored the game-high 29 points, including the first five points of the game highlighted by a three-point play. He added 11 rebounds in his debut in playing overseas.
Ian Sangalang led the Hotshots locals with 17 markers while Paul Lee added 14 including the lone four-point shot of the team when he made in the closing minutes of the game.
The Hotshots actually got off to a good start with a 5-0 run by Robinson himself until Meralco made a 9-0 counter run but countered again by Magnolia with 4-0.
Even though the two defense-oriented teams have runs of their own, they still have a low scoring first quarter with Meralco leading 16-12.
Another exchange of runs happened in the second quarter and Meralco still led at halftime, 43-39.
After the break, offense started clicking for both teams but Meralco did better and even pushed the lead to 11 point lead at the end of third, 74-63.
In the final period, the Bolts erected the largest lead of the game at 14 but the Hotshots made a comeback and cut down the lead to two off Glenn Robinson III three-point basket with less than a minute remaining.
The Hotshots then sent Chris Newsome to the free throw line. Newsome missed the first one and made his second attempt In the next play, Robinson took the potential first ever game-winning four-pointer in history over the outstretched arm of Newsome but he missed the shot.
Allen Durham grabbed the rebound and got fouled. He made the two charity stripes given him to seal the game at 99-94.
Meralco and Magnolia will take on one another again on September 7 at the Panabo Multi-Purpose Tourism, Cultural, and Sports Gymnasium in Davao.
The Scores:
Meralco 99 – Durham 20, Banchero 14, Newsome 13, Mendoza 13, Hodge 12, Quinto 9, Black 6, Rios 3, Pasaol 3, Cansino 2, Bates 2, Pascual 2, Caram 0, Torres 0.
Magnolia Chicken Timplados 94 – Robinson III 29, Sangalang 17, Lee 14, Barroca 9, Lucero 7, Ahanmisi 6, Dela Rosa 5, Laput 4, Mendoza 3, Abueva 0, Dionisio 0, Escoto 0.
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Jayson Castro scored 16 points and made an immediate impact in his first game of the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup.
Castro added three steals and two assists in his return to help TNT Tropang Giga get the 109-93 victory over the Blackwater Bossing on Thursday night, December 19, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The nine-time PBA champion missed TNT's first three games due to hamstring issues.
TNT's all-around import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson supported Castro with his 22 points, nine rebounds, five dimes, five deflections, and a block.
Four more Tropang Giga scored in double digits to get their second straight victory of the tourney. Rey Nambatac contributed 19, Calvin Oftana provided 18, RR Pogoy put up 12, and Glenn Khobuntin added 10.
Meanwhile, Blackwater high-scoring import George King, who averaged 39 points per game, was only limited to a conference-low 28 markers on 10-of-22.
The Bossing also don't have their prized rookie Sedrick Barefield due to injury.
With King being handcuffed and Barefield not in the lineup, RK Ilagan stepped up and poured out 19 points highlighted by 3-of-3 shooting from the arc.
The game was the last of the year for both teams.
TNT will be back in action on January 7 against Meralco Bolts, while Blackwater will come back on January 8 to face Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
Sweet-shooting guard Jordan Heading and import Cheick Diallo poured out 21 points each to lead Converge in their victory over the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 116-105, on Thursday night, December 19, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The win marked the first time that the FiberXers won back-to-back games in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup and improved their record to 4-2.
Besides Heading and Diallo, four more Converge players scored in double digits. Schonny Winston and Bryan Santos contributed 16 apiece, while Alec Stockton and BJ Andrade added 14 and 11, respectively.
Their twin towers, ace center Justin Arana and top pick rookie Justine Baltazar both came out with six markers.
"We give credit to our guys," said FiberXers acting head coach Franco Atienza, who admitted that he was anxious when Phoenix made a good start that led to a 20-2 lead.
"We just stuck on, we didn't panic. We returned to how we want to run our system, how to run our offense, our defense," Atienza added.
Converge will have a chance to extend their win streak when they face Barangay Ginebra on Saturday, December 21, in Batangas City, and against Meralco Bolts on Christmas day at the Big Dome.
Meanwhile, Donovan Mitchell led Phoenix with 30 points and 18 rebounds. He was supported by RJ Jazul's 20, Tyler Tio's 13, and Ricci Rivero's 11.
The Fuel Masters now have a 1-5 win-loss record after dropping their final game of the year.
The Scores:
CONVERGE 116 - Heading 21, Diallo 21, Winston 16, Santos 16, Stockton 14, Andrade 11, Arana 6, Baltazar 6, Racal 5, Delos Santos 0, Caralipio 0.
PHOENIX 105 - Smith 30, Jazul 20, Tio 13, Perkins 12, Rivero 11, Tuffin 8, Verano 4, Garcia 3, Soyud 2, Manganti 2, Salado 0, Alejandro 0, Muyang 0, Ular 0, Daves 0.
Quarter Scores: 15-30, 48-54, 87-80, 116-105.
San Miguel failed to earn its breakthrough win in the 2024-25 East Asia Super League (EASL) after bowing to Hong Kong Eastern, 62-71, at Southorn Stadium in Hong Kong, on Wednesday, December 18.
Kobey Lam spearheaded the pivotal comeback, registering 19 points, which gave the Hong Kong squad its first victory in the EASL game.
Notwithstanding the efforts of June Mar Fajardo and recently signed import Torren Jones for San Miguel, Eastern maintained their lead.
After a difficult turn-around shot by Fajardo, the Beermen were able to cut the margin to just two points at 58-60 in the fourth quarter.
However, just when it appeared that San Miguel had the advantage, Lam blazed through when he scored five of Eastern’s 9-0 run.
Lam also posted three rebounds and one assist for the Hong Kong-based squad, with Chris McLaughlin tallying a double-double of 16 markers and 17 boards, while Glenn Yang contributed 11 for the home team.
Fajardo and Jones led the charge for the Beermen with 19 points each, but their efforts were for naught as they failed to keep the team from suffering a third straight loss and dropping to the bottom of Group A.
The loss was the first in three games for Leo Austria since taking over as coach last week in place of Jorge Gallent.
San Miguel will aim to finally grab their first win in the EASL as they face the Hiroshima Dragonflies on January 8 at the Hiroshima Sun Plaza in Japan.
The Scores:
Hong Kong 71 – Lam 19, McLaughlin 16, Yang 11, Blankley 7, Xu 5, Leung 5, Chan 4, Zhu 4, Cheung 0, Pok 0, Guinchard 0.
San Miguel 62 – Fajardo 19, Jones 19, Perez 8, Miller 5, Trollano 3, Tautuaa 3, Cahilig 3, Rosales 2, Ross 0, Lassiter 0.
Quarter Scores: 28-14, 48-34, 60-48, 71-62.