PBA: Nabong stars in Meralco's win over GlobalPort

Sol Mercado hit clutch shots in the endgame while combining for 50 points with Mark Cardona, but it was Kelly Nabong's surprise performance that gave Meralco its win against GlobalPort, 101-92 on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The win kept Meralco in the top four of the standings with a 6-5 record. GlobalPort on the other hand stayed mired at the bottom of the standings with a 1-10 card.   "A very gratifying win after an emotional loss from Rain or Shine. I have to really ask help from my coaches. Luckily, I have a very solid coaching staff," said Meralco head coach Ryan Gregorio. "Great we were able to win again and solidify our spot at number four." The Bolts led for the first three quarters, before a Gary David jumper and a Rey Guevarra trey gave Batang Pier a slim lead at the start of the fourth period, 71-70, but Ronjay Buenafe led an 8-0 run for Meralco to re-establish a 78-71 advantage. Four more points from Guevarra, followed by a Vic Manuel conversion off the glass cut the lead to one, 80-79, with 7:01 to go, but Mark Cardona kept GlobalPort at bay. At the 4:16 mark, a David lay-up tied the game at 83, before Buenafe hit another trey followed by a Nabong layup made it 88-83. David got two more points at the other end, but Mercado would hit a shotclock-beating three, followed by a jumper at the top of the key to establish a ten-point lead, 93-83, with 1:59 remaining. Another quick reply form David followed by a pair of Guevarra free throws cut the lead to six, but GlobalPort failed to hit big shots at the end as Nabong ended the game with a slam for the final score. The rookie Nabong, who started at center for Meralco, contributed 18 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and two steals in 39 minutes. He in fact outplayed fellow starter rookie starter Cliff Hodge, who logged just 19 minutes due to foul trouble. GlobalPort got 33 points from Gary David and 20 from Rey Guevarra, but it wasn't enough for them to arrest their skid, as their losing streak now hit seven games. The Batang Pier lost despite out-rebounding Meralco 58-40, 18-9 in offensive boards. Both teams played sloppily, notching more than 20 errors each, but only the Bolts were able to capitalize, getting a 21-8 advantage in points off turnovers. - AMD, GMA News

 

The scores:

 

MERALCO 101 - Cardona 26, Mercado 24, Nabong 18, Buenafe 14, Hugnatan 10, Hodge 2, Ross 2, Borboran 2, Salvacion 2, Reyes 1, Artadi 0.

 

GLOBALPORT 92 - David 33, Guevarra 20, Manuel 15, Miller 7, Al-Hussaini 5, Mandani 4, Deutchman 3, Vanlandingham 3, Salvador 2, Lingganay 0, Yee 0, Vergara 0, Adducul 0.

 

Quarters: 22-21, 48-42, 70-66, 101-92