Bolts spoil Beermen's season debut

Games Wednesday (Ynares Sports Arena):
12:30 p.m. – Terrafirma vs Alaska
3 p.m. – Phoenix Super LPG vs NorthPort
6 p.m. – TNT Tropang Giga vs Magnolia
 
MANILA, Philippines — Eight months after ending the dynasty of San Miguel Beer, the Meralco Bolts denied the redemption-seeking Beermen a winning start in the 46th PBA Philippine Cup.

Picking up from where they left off in 2020, the Bolts stamped their class on the Beermen anew, 93-87, to soar to a leading 2-0 card in the young season at the Ynares Sports Arena Sunday.

The Bolts, who beat a depleted SMB side twice in the quarterfinals of the Clark bubble meet, made it three-in-a-row head-to-head on the day superstars June Mar Fajardo and Terrence Romeo returned from injuries and CJ Perez made his debut.

“San Miguel is San Miguel. It’s an All-Star team, it’s basically the national team. It’s good to get a win against them and get them behind us as we look ahead to tough games against TNT and Phoenix next,” said Bolts coach Norman Black.

Chris Newsome (17 points), Aaron Black (14), Reynel Hugnatan (13) and Nards Pinto (11) turned in double-digit production to lead Meralco past SMB and secure a follow up their 85-63 rout of NorthPort on opening night.

The Bolts started flat and faced an early 11-point deficit but settled down and got their rhythm by the second period.

Meralco grabbed a 15-point margin at the end of the third then quelled the Beermen’s fourth-quarter uprising with booming triples from sophomore Black to seal the deal.

Romeo fired 18 for SMB before limping out with 8:32 left. Trade acquisition Perez debuted with 17 while six-time MVP Fajardo, back from a fractured shin, had five markers and five boards in 18 minutes.

 “As a coach, I’m happy that we played them early because once they get in shape and they start rolling it’s going to be very difficult to stop them,” said Black of their victims.
 
The scores:

First Game
Meralco 93 – Newsome 17, Black 14, Hugnatan 13, Pinto 11, Quinto 9, Belo 7, Maliksi 7, Pasaol 7, Hodge 4, Almazan 4, Jackson 0.

San Miguel Beer 87 – Romeo 18, Tautuaa 17, Perez 17, Lassiter 11, Santos 8, Ross 5, Fajardo 5, Cabagnot 4, Gotladera 2, Pessumal 0.

Quarterscores: 18-25, 42-41, 74-59, 93-87.