West shines in south, keeps Bolts in chase

Games today (Alonte Sports Arena, Biñan, Laguna)

3 p.m. – Barako Bull vs GlobalPort

5:15 p.m. – Rain or Shine vs Barangay Ginebra

MANILA, Philippines - Mario West waxed hot down South, rifling in 42 points to power a back-against-the-wall Meralco squad to a  90-74 triumph over San Miguel Beermen in the PLDT Home Telpad PBA Governors Cup yesterday before a packed Xavier U gym in Cagayan de Oro City.

West fired 17 of his output in a searing 31-14 third-quarter exchange that swayed the momentum to the Bolts, who went on to post their second win in seven outings and stay alive in the hunt for a quarterfinals berth.

“It’s just survival instincts. It’s all we’re fighting for at this point,” said Bolts coach Ryan Gregorio, whose wards took eighth position in the standings and gained a half-game advantage against Nos. 9-10 Barako Bull and GlobalPort (1-5).

“We will not retreat, we will not surrender. This I think averted outright elimination for us and we’ll just keep on fighting,” he added.

The Beermen dropped to 4-3 for fifth spot behind Talk n Text (5-1), Barangay Ginebra (4-1), Air21 (4-2) and San Mig Coffee (4-2).

The 29-year-old West asserted himself in the penultimate quarter, where he poured 10 straight points to get things going for the Bolts.

Cliff Hodge, Gary David, Rey Guevarra and Jason Ballesteros joined the fray as Meralco seized a 71-53 cushion entering the payoff period.

The Beermen mounted a rally in the fourth and threatened to within 69-77 before West countered with three consecutive baskets to restore a 14-point margin with 2:55.

Backstopping West, who also had 14 rebounds, were Hodge, who chipped in 12 and Reynel Hugnatan, who contributed 10 in a solid outing against SMB behemoth June Mar Fajardo.

Fajardo paced SMB with 22 while Reggie Williams produced 17.

Meanwhile, Barangay Ginebra (4-1) guns for a quarterfinals berth today against Rain or Shine (3-3) in a crucial road game at Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan, Laguna.

The Gin Kings seek to follow idle Talk n Text (5-1) into the next round with a win in the 5:15 p.m. duel with an Elasto Painters side that’s coming off a 51-point victory in its last outing.

In the 3 p.m. first game, cellar-dwelling Barako Bull and GlobalPort shoot for their win No. 2 in seven outings as they bid to stay afloat in the short tourney. The Energy Cola are parading Allen Durham in place of Eric Wise.