PBA: Meralco barrels through Ginebra in Davao

Barangay Ginebra torched Meralco in the first, before the Bolts sizzled with their outside sniping in the second half to outgun the Gin Kings, 95-88, in Digos City, Davao del Sur. With the victory, the two teams tied each other in the standings with 2-1 records. Cliff Hodge opened up the game with a jumper to give the Bolts a 2-0 lead, before Ginebra went on an 18-2 run to go up 18-4 at the 6:49 mark. Mark Cardona and Ronjay Buenafe tried to keep Meralco competitive though, closing the first period down 12, 28-16. Come the second period, Sol Mercado drove down the lane to bring the lead down to 11, 33-22, at the 9:20 mark, but Keith Jensen responded with a triple at the other end. A three-point play by Mercado made it a nine-point game with 6:39 to go in the period, before Cardona hit a three to cut the lead even further to six, 40-34. JJ Helterbrand tried to keep the Bolts at bay with his outside sniping, but Mercado continued with his heroics for Meralco, to end the half with Ginebra up by just seven, 44-37. Cardona started to heat up with Mark Borboran in the third, as the duo drained clutch treys to complete a comeback and grab the lead, 63-55, at the 4:20 mark. Back-to-back hits by Mercado gave the Bolts an 11-point advantage, 67-56, before the Gin Kings capitalized on Meralco's penalty situation to close the quarter with coach Ryan Gregorio's wards ahead by four, 69-65. After key threes from Buenafe, JP Belencion, and Cardona, Meralco found itself up 87-77 at the 5:55 mark. Ginebra countered at the other end by dumping the ball into the post, with Billy Mamaril and Rico Maierhofer tag-teaming to bring the lead down to five, 89-84, with 2:42 left in the game. Meralco's Cliff Hodge was determined to get an upset though, as the rookie snagged a rebound off a Mercado miss for a put-back to make it a nine-point game with 1:12 remaining, 93-84. Caguioa then sandwiched Mercado's missed free throws with four of his own, 93-88, but Buenafe and Reynel Hugnatan had enough for splits in the final 30 seconds to hand Ginebra its first defeat in three outings. 2012 PBA Draft fourth overall pick Cliff Hodge continued with his impressive showing early in the season, leading Meralco with 13 points, six boards, four assists, four blocks, and two steals. - AMD, GMA News The scores: Meralco 95 – Cardona 21, Mercado 19, Borboran 15, Hodge 13, Buenafe 10, Hugnatan 5, Artadi 4, Belencion 4, Salvacion 2, Bulawan 2, Reyes 0, Nabong 0 Ginebra 88 – Ellis 19, Caguioa 19, Jensen 10, Wilson 8, Tenorio 7, Maierhofer 6, Mamaril 6, Raymundo 5, Maliksi 3, Helterbrand 3, Hatfield 2, Cortez 0 Quarter scoring: 16-28; 37-44; 69-65; 95-88