By Adrian Stewart Co
Meralco Bolts had a dominant start in the 2021 PBA Governors’ Cup after a 98-77 beating of Blackwater Bossing yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Reinforcement Tony Bishop tallied double-double 28 points and 13 rebounds, while Nard John Pinto added 18 markers for the Bolts, which were the runner-up during the last Governors’ Cup in 2019.
Chris Newsome also made his presence felt with 11 points, while Raymond Almazan had a near double-double numbers of 10 points and nine rebounds.
From a 16-all score after the first 12 minutes, the Bolts outscored the Bossing 32-20 in the second quarter behind Bishop and Pinto for a 48-36 advantage at the half.
Meralco continued its rampage in the second half with Almazan and Bishop dominating inside as the lead reached its largest at 95-71 on a three-pointer by Alvin Pasaol.
Rashawn McCarthy top-scored with 19 points, while import Jaylen Bond had double-double 18 points and 18 rebounds as the Bossing remained winless in three outings.
It was also the Blackwater’s 22nd consecutive defeat, the longest losing skid by any PBA team, since the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup bubble last year at AUF Gym in Pampanga.
On Wednesday night, NLEX Road Warriors cruised to solo first place in the standings with 3-0 record following a 102-100 escape over 2021 PBA Philippine Cup champions TNT Tropang Giga.
KJ McDaniels torched his former team TNT by leading the offense of the NLEX with 33 points, while Celedonio Trollano and JR Quiñahan added 15 markers apiece./ASC, WDJ