PBA: Salvacion triples and Ross steals key in Meralco's win over Air21

(Updated 7:45pm) The Meralco Bolts picked up back-to-back wins for the first time in the 2013 PBA Commissioner's Cup, staying unbeaten versus the Air21 Express/Shopinas.com Clickers franchise, via an 89-88 win, sealed by a pair of Chris Ross steals, Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Meralco evened their card at 3-3, while Air21 joined Barangay Ginebra San Miguel at the bottom of the table, with both possessing 1-5 cards. "Bloodied and all he [Ross] dove for the ball to preserve the win, it just goes to show our team is coming along very well," said Bolts head coach Ryan Gregorio, tipping his hat to the hustle of his point guard. "At this stage it's really basketball education for us and we're finding ways to win. I'm just so happy with the kind of warrior mentality that my players had," Gregorio added. "We lost a big lead and we were teetering on the brink of defeat, but we came up with stops to preserve the victory." Trailing 74-64 to start the fourth quarter, Michael Dunigan carried a re-energized Express as they went on a 20-9 tear to take the lead for the first time with four minutes to play, 84-83. Meanwhile, the Bolts couldn't complete their offensive sets and tripped themselves up with unforced errors. Meralco was helpless as Dunigan exploited them beneath the basket, adding back-to-back makes for an 88-85 advatange, with two minutes to play. Off a Bolts timeout, Mike Cortez drew a charge on Chris Ross, but despite two looks at the basket on the other end, Air21 was unable to capitalize. The Bolts were left with 47 seconds left to create a play, and Eric Dawson came through, quickly scoring a lay-up. Meralco then forced a turnover as Air21 tried to go to Dunigan anew, giving them another possession with 30 seconds remaining. This time, Dawson fumbled the lay-up try, and Air21 went back the other way. But as the Express tried to kill time, Ross intercepted a pass by Dunigan, intended for Mark Isip, and was fouled. The heady point guard made two from the line, edging Meralco ahead, 89-88. With under 10 seconds to play and without any timeouts left, the Express were in a hurry to bring the ball upcourt. However, an awkward inbounds pass and a pesky Ross got revenge on Cortez, forcing the latter into a turnover. That allowed Meralco to dribble out the few seconds remaining, until the buzzer. Chris Ross was named player of the game for his heroics, gathering six points, 12 assists and five steals. Eric Dawson top-scored for Meralco with 35 points, 17 rebounds and three steals. Sniper Sunday Salvacion hit 6-of-9 triples en route to 18 points, and Mac Cardona added 11 markers to the Bolts' tally. In the first quarter, the Express struggled to score against Meralco's 1-3-1 defense. Bolts import Eric Dawson capped seven unanswered points with an and-one, forcing a scoreless Express squad to take an early timeout. It was nearly five minutes into the game when Air21 got their first points off a fadeaway jumper by Mike Dunigan. The Express' offense slowly hummed to life, as Bonbon Custodio drained a transition jumper to make it a single possession game, 20-17. However, Meralco limited them in the last two minutes, thanks to hustle plays by Reynel Hugnatan, to survive the first quarter with a 26-19 lead. Dawson scored 18 of Meralco's first quarter points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. In the second period, Wynne Arboleda completed an and-one to help the Express get within four, 28-26, but the Bolts called on Sunday Salvacion to return fire, as the deadly outside shooter buried four triples to build a nine-point lead. Jay-R Reyes and Vic Manuel then followed with back-to-back makes at the rim, 43-30. With under four minutes to play, KG Canaleta drained a triple from the left corner. It turned out to be the Express' last field goal of the quarter though, as they were met with stiff opposition in the lane. Additional makes by Dawson sandwiched a Mac Cardona hook shot, giving Meralco a 49-35 advantage after two quarters. Dawson and Dunigan did battle in the third quarter as both imports exclusively carried their teams' scoring load. Air21 though was less successful at keeping Dawson out of the paint, and charities by Cliff Hodge made it a 58-40 game. Dunigan began to assert himself more, and the import boosted the Express with an 8-2 run. Canaleta then slashed through the lane for two more, 60-49, but Air21 wouldn't get closer than 11, as Reynel Hugnatan and Chris Ross chipped in for the Bolts. Free throws by Dunigan bracketed a trey by Renren Ritualo, only Air21's third of the game. It was met though by Salvacion and his fifth triple, making it a 69-54 tally. In the last three minutes of the penultimate quarter, Mark Isip stepped up for the Express as he charged into the paint and drew contact. The former Meralco Bolt, ironically enough, scored eight of Air21's last 11 points as they cut the deficit to single digits after three quarters, 73-64. Three-point shooting was key for Meralco in this game, as they tallied a 7-of-14 clip, including Salvacion's 6-of-9 mark. In contrast, Air21 managed only 3-of-16 tries from beyond the arc. Both teams were more or less equal in shooting percentage from the field (Air21's 32-of-72 for 44.4 percent, versus Meralco's 31-of-72 for 43.1 percent) and the free throw line (Air21's 21-of-29 for 72.4 percent, contrasted to Meralco's 20-of-27 for 74.1 percent). However, Meralco ruled it on the glass, 47-42. Michael Dunigan exploded for 40 points and 16 rebounds, including 30 markers in the second half. Mark Isip was the only other Air21 player in double figures, amassing 13 points and four rebounds. "We couldn't find a solution to Dunigan at the end; it was quite obvious and we're going to struggle because we're not the tallest team in the league," said Gregorio. "It's going to be a long conference for us and all our games will be like this. "But as long as we end up winners, I don't mind it." - AMD, GMA News The scores: MERALCO 89 - Dawson 35, Salvacion 18, Cardona 11, Hugnatan 8, Ross 6, Hodge 4, Buenafe 3, Manuel 2, Reyes 2, Artadi 0. AIR21 88 - Dunigan 40, Isip 13, Canaleta 7, Custodio 6, Omolon 6, Ritualo 5, Cortez 4, Arboleda 3, Sena 2, Menor 2, Atkins 0, Wilson 0, Baclao 0. Quarter scoring: 26-19, 49-35, 74-64, 89-88