PBA: New import West, veteran Taulava lead Meralco past Alaska

Mario West and Asi Taulava combined for 56 points as the Meralco Bolts dropped the struggling Alaska Aces, 100-95, to notch their second win the PBA Governor's Cup, Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Aces looked tough early on, even posting a 10-1 lead in the first few minutes, but new Meralco import and former NBA player Mario West decided to introduce himself to the PBA crowd, scoring 10 of his own to bring the Bolts closer, 16-15.

An RJ Jazul triple gave Alaska more breathing room, but Taulava scored on a putback to tie the game for the Bolts at 21-all. The recently-acquired Jazul and Bonbon Custodio then teamed up late in the first for the Aces to give Alaska a 30-23 lead heading to the second quarter.

In the second, Alaska enjoyed its biggest lead at 11 after a Samigue Eman conversion, but the Bolts started to get aggressive, with West tying the game at 47-all. The Meralco big men continued to complement West, as Taulava and Gilbert Bulawan converted on their own attempts to give the Bolts the lead at the half, 55-50.


Meralco continued with its balanced offense in the third, keeping the Aces at bay for a seven-point lead going into the fourth quarter. In the final period, the Aces slowly ate into the Bolts lead, with Sonny Thoss bringing it down to three, 90-87. But Asi Taulava continued with his perfect game, scoring down low to bring the lead back up to seven, 94-87.

With less than a minute to go, Jason Forte and LA Tenorio tried to stage Alaska's last push, cutting the Meralco lead to three yet again. However power forward Reynel Hugnatan calmly sank his free throws to give Meralco a 100-95 edge with six seconds left to seal the win for the Bolts.

"We found an import who can contribute on both ends, who has the intensity, which rubbed off on his teammates especially on Asi Taulava. As long as you keep working hard you'll be rewarded," said Meralco head coach Ryan Gregorio, who got 33 points from West.

Taulava was the other key offensive option for the Bolts in the game, scoring 23 points on 7-of-7 shooting. The veteran center also hauled in 12 rebounds.

"Coach Ryan is making basketball easy for me. He's making me shoot 3 feet from the basket," said Taulava.

West and Taulava more than made up for a quiet night from the Bolts' two dynamic scorers, Mark Cardona (nine points on 3-of-10 shooting) and Sol Mercado (six points on 1-of-7 shooting).

Alaska's Jason Forte padded the stat sheet with 24 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, a steal and three blocks, but he also had a team-high five turnovers. Bonbon Custodio and LA Tenorio had 11 each, while RJ Jazul and Cyrus Baguio also had added 10 markers.

The win helped the Meralco Bolts improve to 2-3, putting them above sister team Talk 'N Text, while the Alaska Aces, under new head coach Luigi Trillo, dropped to the cellar with a 1-4 card. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

MERALCO 100 - West 33, Taulava 23, Bulawan 9, Cardona 9, Hugnatan 8, Mercado 6, Ross 4, Reyes 4, Artadi 4.

ALASKA 95 - Forte 24, Custodio 11, Tenorio 11, Jazul 10, Baguio 10, Thoss 9, Espinas 8, Eman 6, Dela Cruz 4, Baracael 2, Gonzales 0.

Quarter scoring: 23-30, 55-50, 82-75, 100-95