‘CB’ back with a bang

MANILA, Philippines — Fresh out of sickbay, Chris Banchero quickly took on the role of difference-maker for Meralco.

In his maiden outing off a hamstring injury, Banchero delivered the most important baskets and assists in the last 5:45 to power the Bolts to a 109-95 victory over TNT yesterday in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the PhilSports Arena.

Banchero highlighted his 18-point Season 48 debut with a pivotal three-point play, a shot clock-beating triple and a set-up for Chris Newsome’s trey that gave the Bolts a 103-90 cushion off a two-point contest.

The Fil-Italian guard’s return filled the void left by injured teammates Allein Maliksi (nose) and Aaron Black (knee) in Meralco’s bounceback win off its 83-93 loss to San Miguel Beer last week.

With this, the Bolts hiked their card to 3-1 and joined idle Phoenix at second spot behind unbeaten Magnolia (4-0).

“It’s nice to have CB back. We know what he can do,” said Meralco coach Luigi Trillo of Banchero, who shot eight towards the finish and also posted four assists and two rebounds in nearly 30 minutes of action.

Later, Barangay Ginebra (3-1) rallied from 17 down to snatch a 90-87 win over Blackwater (1-4).