Bolts elbow out Enforcers for No. 4 ranking

BANKABLE VETERAN: Meralco's Jared Dillinger drives around KG Canaleta of Mahindra. (PBA Media Bureau photo)

MANILA: There was something that Norman Black said to his Meralco crew at halftime that did the trick against Mahindra on Wednesday night.
Problem is, he really couldn’t remember what it was.
The Bolts came out with renewed zest and had a lot of energy for the second half to complete a come-from-behind 104-99 win over the Enforcers and grab No. 4 ranking in the PBA Governors’ Cup playoffs at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
“I thought it was a story of two halves,” Black told reporters after their second straight victory over the Enforcers as his Bolts snagged the last twice-to-beat advantage over this same Mahindra crew when their quarterfinal series starts Saturday afternoon in Antipolo City.
“We were slow and didn’t have the energy at the start of the game,” the multi-titled Black continued. “I don’t know what I told the players (at halftime) but we came out with a lot of energy (for the final two periods).”
The Bolts trailed by as big as 15 points early and were down 12 at halftime, slowly creeping back in the game in the third period with a 16-0 run to even briefly lead before holding off the determined Enforcers in the stretch for the crucial win.
Jared Dillinger was the most prolific in the second half for Black, while import Allen Durham was consistent all night as Meralco inflicted a fourth straight loss overall on the Enforcers.
Those four consecutive defeats by the Enforcers represent the number of times that they failed to bag a twice-to-beat privilege, with all the defeats coming via slim margins. Their last two loss to Meralco came via spreads of three and five.
And this is something which veteran gunner KG Canaleta hopes the team has learned from when they start their quarterfinal matchup.
“We are a young team and it showed. Our immaturity in the stretch showed,” Canaleta said in Filipino before heading for his car. “We played solid but just couldn’t close it out in both games. Hopefully we learned from this.”
Dillinger hit all of his 22 points in the final two frames, including 12 in the fourth that was highlighted by two triples inside the last 2:19 that helped keep the Enforcers at bay.
“I give a lot of credit to JD (Dillinger) for coming up with a lot of huge shots down the stretch,” Black said. “It seems that every time JD hits a lot of outside shots, we have a great chance of winning the game.”
The win gave the Bolts the last win-once bonus in the quarterfinals, pushing the Enforcers to two KO matches to advance to the Final Four.
Rookie Baser Amer was also instrumental, shooting six of his 16 points in the fourth with Chris Newsome adding 12 and forcing Canaleta to throw up an ill-advised three-pointer that helped doom the Enforcers.
James White led Mahindra with 22 points, 13 rebounds and five assists and five locals turned in double digits in what could be the most painful loss for the Enforcers in their breakout conference.
Meanwhile, Phoenix Petroleum, with Eugene Phelps again at the firing end, booked the last playoff slot later in the night after a 105-94 ripping of Rain or Shine.
Phelps, who showed up with a weird hairdo, fired 40 points, had 14 rebounds and six assists, with Josh Urbiztondo firing 23 and Willie Wilson grabbing 15 boards as the Fuel Masters advanced opposite tournament No. 1 TNT KaTropa also on Saturday.
Rain or Shine was thus eliminated, becoming the second unexpected casualty of the tournament after Star. The Elasto Painters joined the Hotshots, the GlobalPort Batang Pier and the Blackwater Elite on an early vacation.