Lofton debuts with 54 pts

MANILA, Philippines — Right before Zach Lofton hit the court for his PBA debut, Meralco’s injured import, Su Braimoh, gave his replacement a good ribbing: “Ball out.”

Lofton more than obliged.

Firing on all cylinders, Lofton turned in an electric 54-point outing that powered the Bolts to a 125-99 crushing of the NorthPort Batang Pier for solo third in the Commissioner’s Cup yesterday at the PhilSports Arena.

Given extra duties from his initial role as one of Meralco’s imports in the East Asian Super League, Lofton showcased his insane shooting skills and peppered the Batang Pier with nine triples scattered over 37 minutes.

The 6-foot-3 debutant made the most damage in the third, where he dropped 20 in a 43-16 salvo keying the Bolts’ breakaway en route to their third straight win and 5-1 overall and a tie at No. 2 with idle Phoenix.

“Shout out to Su, he went down last game. I want to step in for the team and be the force that he was for the team,” said Lofton of Braimoh, who tore his Achilles in Meralco’s 97-94 squeaker over NLEX a week ago and joined the team on the bench in crutches in this match.

“We dedicate this game to Su, he’s still part of our family. Su was teasing Zach before the game to ball out and I think that’s what he did,” said Meralco coach Luigi Trillo.

Lofton’s 54 marked the most points for a PBA debutant since Blackwater’s Troy Williams scored 55 in last season’s Governors’ Cup and the second all-time highest in Meralco history next to Allen Durham’s 55 in the 2016 Governors’ Cup.

“We’re blessed that even with Su going down, we have a quality player like Zach,” said Trillo. “Masaya rin ako na bumalik na si Allein Maliksi. We need him, he’s one of our go-to guys.”

Missing their last three games due to a nose injury, a masked Maliksi shot 18 in his comeback gig.

Meralco put an end to the three-game streak of the Batang Pier (5-3) and spoiled the 31-point career-best outing of rookie Fran Yu.

The Bolts stepped on the pedal in the second half and the Batang Pier, feeling the toll from playing a third match in five days, couldn’t keep up anymore.

NorthPort reinforcement Venky Jois returned after sitting out Friday’s 115-101 upset of San Miguel due to hamstring tightness but struggled with nine.

Later, Magnolia out-steadied San Miguel Beer, 94-90, to go 7-0 and punch a quarterfinals ticket. The Beermen fell to 3-3.

Bolick going to NLEX

NLEX is making a move to get Robert Bolick, who is back in the country after a brief stint in Japan.

The Road Warriors sought to acquire Bolick, whose rights remain with the NorthPort, in a proposal submitted to the PBA. Aside from Bolick, NLEX is also eyeing Kent Salado in exchange for Don Trollano, Ben Adamos, Kris Rosales and its Season 49 second-round pick.