“They
(Bolts) are a stronger team now,” Uichico said. “We all know that the players
they got during the off-season could be explosive.” Turned out Uichico’s fears
were unfounded. The final score was a solid proof.
Starting
hot before applying a cold splash to a fiery comeback by Meralco in the second
half, Ginebra ho-hummed to a 115-98 win over the PBA’s youngest franchise for a
rousing start in the import-flavored tournament at the Ilocos Norte Centennial
Arena in Laoag City.
Import
Nate Brumfield nearly registered a triple-double right on his first stint on
Philippine soil, collecting 32 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, while
Mark Caguioa added 20 points and was the one responsible for Ginebra’s
breakaway run in the second period.
While
the outcome is the type coaches wish for, it wasn’t the kind Uichico had
expected from a ball club that looked an authentic contender after acquiring
ace guard Sol Mercado from Rain or Shine, Ren-Ren Ritualo from Powerade, and
Reynel Hugnatan from Alaska.
Hugnatan
did not see action because of an injury, but Mercado scored 14 first-quarter
points before fading in the second half to finish with 20. Ritualo, meantime,
went scoreless.
Simply
put, Meralco is a team that’s still going through enormous birth pains.
“They’re
still in a stage trying to improve on their chemistry,” said Uichico. “Give
them a few more games and I think you will see the true strength of that team.”
Meralco, a ball club that made a shocking playoff appearance in the Philippine
Cup (fifth spot) before going out after the quarter-finals against Ryan
Gregorio’s former team Derby Ace, however did create some jolt.
Down by
12-22 in the opening quarter, the Bolts fought back with a 10-0 run, with
Mercado scoring five, to tie the count.
That,
however, was the best Meralco could offer.
Ginebra
scored 33 points in the second quarter to assume a 59-42 lead at the half, and
then thwarted another counter-assault by the Bolts toward the end of third
quarter and at the early fourth.
The
Kings, third placers in the Philippine Cup, needed a five-point cluster from
two-time MVP Willie Miller to hold back the Bolts, who cut down a 24-point,
83-59 deficit to within 87-76 early in the final period.
Miller
converted two free throws and then stopped and popped for a three-point shot,
carrying the Kings out of trouble and onto a 92-76 advantage. Ginebra was never
again threatened from there.
The win
was a fitting welcome for Brumfield, the product from Oklahoma Baptist
University coming in from a stint in the Mexican league where he averaged 14.5
points in 32 games.
He had
the better numbers compared to Anthony Danridge, the supposed better import on
paper for being a US NCAA slam dunk champion and one who had just seen action
in the tough Lebanese league having the second-highest scoring average of 28
points per game next only to the popular Fadi El-Khatib.
Danridge
finished with 30 points.
But
while Meralco may be a team with plenty of promise, time certainly isn’t on its
side.
The
Bolts will have to fast-track whatever improvements they have since the
tournament only calls for a single-round robin among the 10 competing ball
clubs. Worse, four teams after the elimination round will be booted out.
Miller
ended up with 16 points and Ronald Tubid had 15 for Ginebra.
Asi
Taulava, on the other hand, contributed 23 points for Meralco, which only drew
six points from franchise player Mark Cardona, the man who knocked in the
winning shot when the Bolts and the Kings similarly opened hostilities in the
Philippine Cup, 73-72.
Under
the new format, the top two teams after the eliminations will advance outright
to the semi-finals. The third-to-sixth-ranked teams will dispute the two
remaining Final Four berths in the quarterfinal round series.
