GLOBALPORT gave Meralco a dose of its own defensive medicine and got away with a very welcome reward.
Stymieing the Bolts no end in the second half, the Batang Pier fashioned a come-from-behind 91-79 triumph Wednesday to stay alive in their bid for a quarterfinals berth in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Markeith Cummings notched 32 points and 12 rebounds, Gary David added 21 points and Sol Mercado 15 as they spearheaded Globalport’s awe-inspiring comeback from 20 points down and into the win that snapped them out of a three-game slide.
The victory was the third in all for the Batang Pier, surpassing their best yet in a tournament and matching the total they won in their first two conferences with the league. More important, it moved them into seventh-running spot with two more eliminations games left.
At least one more triumph against Petron Blaze on Wednesday and Barangay Ginebra next Sunday and the Mikee Romero-owned franchise could assure itself of inclusion among the eight moving on to the next round.
Head coach Junel Baculi said it was a matter of his team rising past the frustrations of a 97-98 loss to Barako Bull their last time out, when his team blew as much as an 18-point third quarter lead.
“Ginamit naming motivation iyung loss namin last Sunday. It was a won game,” related Baculi.
“We cannot blame anybody but ourselves,” added Baculi. “We rise as a team, we lose as a team, di yung kasalanan nito kasalanan nito.”
The loss was Meralco’s third in seven games, cutting short its winning run at three. Although it remained at second-running spot, it is now joined by San Mig Coffee and defending champion Rain or Shine.
Coincidentally, it was Meralco which started Globalport’s woes in the mid-season Commissioner’s Cup that sent the latter into an 11-game downward spiral and a second straight last place finish.
For a long while, it seemed the Bolts’ lightning will again strike the Batang Pier down when the former pounced on the latter’s listless start to erect as much as a 40-20 lead, just past the midway mark of the second period.
Then Globalport started stirring back to life in the third quarter before pulling out all stops in fashioning the biggest comeback win yet in the franchise’s young history.
Defense was the key to Meralco’s recent run but it was Globalport showing such tenacity when it held the former to just a 4-for-30 field shooting, including 1-for-11 from beyond the arc, in the decisive fourth period.
Mario West was rightfully the focus of the Batang Pier’s defense and it paid off as he was limited to 22 points and eight rebounds. He picked up a fifth foul with still 1:23 left in the third period, returned to the game with 6:08 left and missed his last four shots before committing his last foul, off a charge on Cummings, with 1:52 remaining.
Reynel Hugnatan had 19 points and a game-high 13 rebounds and John Wilson added 16 points, with his one-handed alley-oop basket from Chris Ross making it a 69-67 count, still 8:25 left.
That would prove to be Meralco’s last taste of the lead as Cummings and Sol Mercado, who had 15 points, hit a triple each, sparking their two-man 16-6 run that gave Globalport an 83-75 spread.
David scattered 14 of his points and Cummings chipped in seven of his own in the third period as the Batang Pier outscored the Bolts 32-19 to whittle a 28-44 halftime deficit to just 60-63.
Globalport’s hole was dug starting in the first seven minutes of the game when it went just 1-for-11 from the field and committed three turnovers to fall behind by 8-21. (NC)
The scores:
Globalport 91 – Cummings 32, David 21, Mercado 15, Washington 10, Taha 4, Miller 3, Mandani 2, Thiele 2, Salvador 2, Lingganay 0, Alonzo 0.
Meralco 79 – West 22, Hugnatan 19, Wilson 16, Hodge 9, Cardona 7, Reyes 4, Allado 2, Guevarra 0, Ross 0, Timberlake 0, Cortez 0, Salvacion 0.
Quarterscores: 13-23, 28-44, 60-63, 91-79
Source: http://pba.inquirer.net/30621/globalports-battles-back-from-20-down-to-stun-meralco
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