Santa Rosa, Laguna (CNN Philippines, October 4) — The Meralco Bolts secured a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-five semifinal series against the Star Hotshots, 98-74, in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup on Tuesday evening at the Santa Rosa Multi-Purpose Complex.
Ranidel De Ocampo, Jared Dillinger, and import Allen Durham poured in 18 markers apiece for Meralco.
A 12-6 burst from the Bolts to open up the first quarter was a precursor to their domination in Game 2.
Meralco could not be stopped in the first period, carving out a 30-11 cushion going into the second frame.
With the game at risk of getting out of hand, Star mounted an offensive that saw them trim down the deficit to 42-26 midway through the second period.
But Meralco entered the second half with a flourish, rebuilding their advantage over the Hotshots to 53-32.
There were no adjustments Star could make at the halftime interval to stop the Bolts from running rampant, as Meralco expanded their lead to 78-48 going into the payoff period.
Star managed to chip at the deficit to make it 90-70, but it was not enough to threaten Meralco’s victory.
The victory marked the Meralco Bolt’s most lopsided playoff win in franchise history, while the defeat was Star’s worst playoff loss since the 2014 PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals, 112-86, against TNT.
Mark Barroca paced Star with 16 points, while substitute Alvin Abundo chipped in with 14 of his own.
Despite the Bolts having a 2-0 advantage in the series, Meralco Bolts coach Norman Black believes that the Hotshots still have a lot of hunger left in them.
“Well we don’t expect them to give up, that’s for sure. We expect them to come up fighting,” Black said. “We’re really going to have to be playing our best basketball to beat them in Game 3.”
Meralco look to closeout the series on Thursday at the Araneta Coliseum.
