By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Terrafirma Dyip fought off a furious comeback attempt by Meralco Bolts to score a 107-102 victory for a rare back-to-back win in the 2023 PBA on Tour at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City on Sunday night, June 18.

Eric James Camson erupted for 30 points, including four three-point conversions, Juan Miguel Tiongson added 21 markers, while Negrense John Paul Calvo and George Isaac Go had 12 and 11, respectively, as the Dyip improved to 3-3.

After being down by as much as nine points in the first half, the Dyip turned things around in the second half as they surged to an 89-77 lead via a three-pointer from Calvo and an inside hit from Go.

The Bolts answered with a run to take a 95-93 lead on a basket by Clifford Hodge, but the Dyip responded with triples from Go and Camson to take a 103-98 lead before they widened it to 107-102 with inside shots from Camson and Calvo.

“Ang tagal naming ‘di nag-back-to-back,” Camson said. 

“Before the game, sabi namin, ‘Guys, try kaya nating mag-back-to-back win. Ang tagal na rin kasi e.’ Siguro mas gutom lang kami,” he added.

Allein Maliksi top-scored with 33 points, with six outside conversions, Hodge had double-double 24 points and 15 rebounds, while Kier John Quinto had 15 points and 10 assists as the Bolts dropped to 3-2.

Meanwhile, Jerrick Balanza drilled a go-ahead basket as Converge FiberXers (2-3) completed its fight back from 16 points down to score a 113-111 overtime win against San Miguel Beermen (3-2).

With the score tied at 111-all following a triple by FiberXers’ Alec Stockton, Converge got the ball back after Stockton stole the ball from Beermen’s Moala Tautuaa before passing it to Balanza for the marginal layup with 1.9 seconds left.

The Beermen, which went up by as high as 16 points in the third quarter, still had a chance to snatch the victory, but Ilonggo Jericho Cruz mishandled the ball while his teammate, Allyn Bulanadi, misfired a three-point attempt at the buzzer.

Balanza finished with 15 points to go with three rebounds, three assists and two steals, Stockton tallied 23 points and nine assists, while Kevin Racal had double-double 16 points and 10 rebounds for the FiberXers.

TERRAFIRMA 107 — Camson 30, Tiongson 21, Calvo 12, Go 11, Gomez de Liano 9, Alolino 8, Ramos 6, Cahilig 4, Mina 4, Taladua 2, Grospe 0, Alanes 0.

MERALCO 102 — Maliksi 33, Hodge 24, Quinto 16, Torres 8, Dario 6, Caram 5, Pasaol 4, Rios 4, Johnson 0, Almazan 0.

Quarterscores: 23-23, 54-55, 84-73, 107-102./ASC, WDJ