RENEE FOPALAN, GMA NEWS
Mario West hit a lay-up with 5.4 seconds remaining that won the game, erasing Alex Cabagnot's go-ahead three-pointer on the previous play, lifting the Meralco Bolts over the Petron Blaze Boosters, 113-112, Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, in the semifinal round of the PBA Governors' Cup.
The Bolts enjoyed a comfortable ten point lead with six minutes remaining, before Alex Cabagnot spearheaded an offensive campaign, punctuated by a three-pointer with 5.4 seconds remaining to finally grab the lead, 112-111. Meralco then leaned on their import West, who managed to flip a shot in, above the outstretched arms of Arwind Santos to win the game.
"We definitely enjoyed this ball game," said Meralco head coach Ryan Gregorio. "[The] goal was to end the season on a high note and we did.
"There were anxious moments because of Cabagnot [but] luckily we had super Mario [West]. We ended with a loud bang."
Alex Cabagnot's late-game heroics nearly did it for Petron. KC Cruz
The Bolts raced out to an 8-2 start and seemed in complete control early on, outscoring Petron 29-24 in the first period. Meralco doubled its first quarter lead in the second, as the Bolts ended the first half with a 10-point lead, 56-46.
In the third, the Meralco lead went up to as high as 12 before the quarter ended with the Bolts up nine, 88-79. Come the final period, Meralco looked like it had the win in the bag, as Cardona hit from the inside to give the Bolts a 14-point lead, 105-91, but Cabagnot and Lutz teamed up to bring the Boosters back.
After two lay-ups from Cabagnot cut the lead to three, 107-104, Lutz hit and and one to tie the game at 107-all.
Two free throws from Cardona with a minute and a half remaining gave Meralco some breathing room, 109-107, and that was followed by Sol Mercado hitting a tough jumper to pad the lead further, 111-107.
The Bolts continued to enjoy a two-point lead with 12 seconds left, before Cabagnot hit a booming triple to seemingly steal the win from the Bolts, 112-111. With 5.7 seconds remaining though, West drove inside, evading the defense of Chris Lutz and Arwind Santos to score. A last-second Hail Mary heave by Cabagnot did not find its mark, allowing Meralco to escape with this one.
"It's the end of our season, but it's a lot better than the previous one," said Gregorio, as his Bolts ended with 6-8 mark, as did their opponents, last season's champs in the same tourney. "We made improvements. Mario [West] finished strong. He took the final statement."
West played the entire game and finished with 41 markers, plus eight rebounds and four assists. Mark Cardona added 26 more points, while Sol Mercado had 19.
After beginning the semifinal round with a rousing win against the top team in the standings, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, Petron went on to drop their next four games. On the flip side, Meralco, which needed to win a playoff just to get in, lost their first three, but came back to beat the reigning Commissioners' Cup titlists, the B-MEG Llamados, and then Petron. - AMD, GMA News
The scores:
Meralco 113 - West 41, Cardona 26, Mercado 19, Ross 10, Taulava 10, Macapagal 5, Reyes 2, Timberlake 0.
Petron 112 - Cabagnot 29, Lutz 22, Santos 16, Faison 15, Washington 11, Pena 6, Yeo 5, Hontiveros 4, Baclao 2, Duncil 2, Lanete 0.
Quarter scoring: 29-24, 56-46, 88-79, 113-112
