PBA: Dawson drops 37 as Meralco stuns Talk 'N Text

Having traded Sol Mercado, Mark Cardona (C) assumed the role of go-to-guy for the Meralco Bolts, and helped his team to a 99-92 win. Photo by KC Cruz

"Big start for us," said Meralco head coach Ryan Gregorio. "It's nice to win this game against the champs." 

Gregorio also praised his 6-9 import, saying, "One thing I like about him is his winning ways."

The former San Antonio Spur also registered 14 rebounds and four blocks in his debut with the Bolts with a 14-of-16 shooting clip.

 

Meralco built on a strong first quarter to lead by as much as 18 points in the second quarter, but Talk  Text nearly overtook them in the third period, 58-57, on a three-ball by Larry Fonacier. Eric Dawson stepped up his game in the final period, scoring 16 of the Bolts' 31 fourth-quarter points to see them through until the end.

 

Ronjay Buenafe tallied 19 points, while Mac Cardona added 16 markers. Vic Manuel and Reynel Hugnatan chipped in eight points apiece.

 

Bolts head coach Ryan Gregorio said that it was nice to get a win against TNT, but cautioned that the victory might be a matter of circumstance. "They have two new guys and haven't had extensive practice together," he said. "On the other hand, we brought Eric [Dawson] in three weeks ago and he knows what we want to do."

 

Chris Ross, who took over the starting point guard slot following the departure of Sol Mercado to GlobalPort, scored just two points but collected nine boards and eight assists.

 

Gregorio said that the franchise made a good decision finding a way to give Ross more minutes. "There comes a point [where] subtraction is actually addition," he said. "It's hard to play two premier guards and share the minutes together. 

 

"But our decision gives us a boost in the energy department, and I thought he did a good job defending the guards of TNT," he said.

 

Talk 'N Text import Keith Benson showcased his wares immediately in the first quarter. The athletic big man completed two and-one plays to score the Texter's first 12 points, but the Bolts stepped up to plate, with Dawson leading them to an 18-12 lead with four minutes to play.

 

Rey Guevarra joined the action by draining a long two with two and a half minutes left in the quarter.  In response, Jayson Castro found his way to the line and nailed two, but the Texters couldn't build any momentum. 

 

Meanwhile, the Bolts continued to draw contact and make charities en route to a 14-2 run in the final four minutes to close the quarter, capped by a stepback three-pointer by Ronjay Buenafe, 27-14.

 

In the second period, Castro tried to penetrate the lane and resurrect his team. "The Blur" scored six of their first 10 points to alleviate the deficit, 34-24, but Meralco dug in their heels defensively, and on the other end, Dawson and Mac Cardona dropped eight unanswered to pull away anew, 42-24.

 

With six minutes to play, the Texters were limited to shooting from the line, but Dawson and Cardona converted again in transition to open up their biggest lead of the game, 46-28, with three-and-a-half minutes left in the first half.

 

But soon, TNT made some headway as they began to find scoring chances off defensive stops. After Alapag made a pair from the line, Castro drained a jumper coming off a curl. The Texters finished the quarter strong, capped by a Castro pull-up trey with 39 seconds remaining to cut the lead to single digits at the half, 48-41.

 

Talk 'N Text ended the half on a 13-2 swing, including Castro's seven points. 

 

After halftime, a pair of Benson makes sandwiched a Larry Fonacier drive for a quick 6-1 spurt, forcing Gregorio to burn an early timeout. The sequence set the tone for the Texters in the quarter, and they capped a 13-7 run with a Ryan Reyes triple, 55-54, with six minutes to play.

 

Fortunately for their opponents, the Bolts were able to recover, as Dawson scored five points on back-to-back trips with four minutes left. Meralco would go on to get shots in the lane and outscore the Talk n' Texters 13-8 until the end of the third period, 68-62.

 

Alapag came out on fire in the fourth quarter, as he drained two triples to boost his team's morale headed into the final stretch. However, they were unable to impede the Bolts' penetration, as Vic Manuel and Cardona broke away for back-to-back hits in the lane, 84-76.

 

Ranidel De Ocampo drilled in a trey and scored five of TNT's next eight with six-and-a-half minutes to play, but the Bolts ran plays for Dawson in response, who dished to Chris Ross for a lay-up and tallied Meralco's next five. 

 

Dawson also drew Benson's sixth foul on a drive with 3:08 to play. He made both charities and drained a jumper on the next possession, 93-84, to add insult to injury.

 

The Texters tried twice from deep before Alapag drained back-to-back treys. Rabeh Al-Husseini chipped in two more, but Dawson met them at every turn to keep the lead out of reach. Buenafe put the final nails in the coffin with a pair of charities, 99-92, leaving 20 seconds on the clock and too little time for TNT to recover.

 

Gregorio said he likes that his team can be unpredictable on offense against their opponents, but in the end, he maintained that the other end of the floor mattered more. "If we play defense, we can beat the best team in the league," he pointed out.

 

The Bolts won the rebounding battle, 49-44, and collected seven steals versus TNT's five. However, TNT scored 16 points off turnovers against Meralco's 12.

 

Talk 'N Text attempted 27 shots from beyond the arc and made only eight (29.6 percent), and their field goal shooting suffered for it. The Texters were 31-of-81 from the field (38.3 percent) while Meralco made 39-of-80 shots (48.8 percent), including just a 3-of-8 clip from three-point range (37.5 percent).

 

Solid free throw shooting kept TNT in the game, as they converted 22-of-25 attempts from the line (88 percent). In contrast, the Bolts were 18-of-27 on free throws (66.7 percent).

 

Keith Benson led TNT with 25 points, 11 rebounds and a pair of blocks. Jimmy Alapag dished out five assists and scored 18 points, including 4-of-8 shots from long range. The veteran "Mighty Mouse" scored 12 points, all on triples, in the fourth quarter. 2012-12 Philippine Cup Best Player of the Conference Jayson Castro scored 17 points, all of which came in the first half. - RAF, GMA News