Bolts snap skid, hang on at eighth

MANILA, Philippines — To re-spark its title-retention drive, Meralco had to snap a “mini slump” head-to-head against Blackwater.

And so Bolts attended to matters and hammered out a crucial 103-85 crushing of the Bossing in the PBA Philippine Cup last night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

The 18-point romp actually marked Meralco’s first against Blackwater after losing their previous duels in the Season 48 All-Filipino (93-96) and Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup (98-114).

More importantly, it provided a much-needed boost for the Bolts, who had lost their last two assignments prior. With an improved 4-5 win-loss card, the reigning titlists kept their hold of eighth spot with two matches left in their elims slate.

“Moving forward, this is a game that we need to get. It’s going to be like KO games every time. NLEX is next then Ginebra so we’re locked in for those last two games,” said coach Luigi Trillo.

“But this is something we’re very happy with. We’re one of the best defensive teams and one of the best rebounding teams and we lived up to that today,” added Trillo, whose charges dominated the battle off the boards, 62-42.

Later, RR Pogoy (35), Poy Erram (career-high 31) and Calvin Oftana (28) carried the load as TNT made it four straight at Rain or Shine’s expense, 111-103. The Tropang 5G caught up with ROS at 4-3.