PBA: Mercado, Washington combine for 60 as Globalport bucks Meralco

By JOB B. DE LEON, GMA News

Published December 6, 2013 8:00pm

Globalport's Sol Mercado (L) lays it up against Meralco's Don Allado. KC Cruz

Much has been said about GlobalPort's rookie haul in the PBA draft, but their veterans took the spotlight on their victory against Meralco.

Sol Mercado and Jay Washington combined for 60 points to lift GlobalPort Batang Pier over the Meralco Bolts, 93-89, in the PLDT MyDSL 2014 PBA Philippine Cup, Friday, at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

"It was good. We were able to execute our game plan, especially against their shooters," said Globalport coach Ritchie Ticzon. "The boys really wanted to play their hearts out. It was all about effort, all about commitment for our team."

Mercado and Washington scored 33 and 27 points, respectively. Mercado added nine rebounds and five assists, while Washington secured 10 rebounds. RR Garcia chimed in with 12 points.

Ticzon, whose starting lineups have been varied throughout the conference, praised the veteran Mercado's ability to adjust to what the team needed. "He came off the bench, and we shifted him from point guard to off-guard. He's getting more and more comfortable with our new system," Ticzon said.

Batang Pier ended a two-game slide at the expense of Meralco's back-to-back win streak. Both now hold 2-3 records in the standings.

Down five with two minutes remaining in the game, Meralco's John Wilson took a hurried three, angering coach Ryan Gregorio. The Bolts retained possession though, and Jared Dillinger hit a corner trey at the 1:42 mark to cut the GlobalPort lead to two, 82-80. Marvin Hayes responded with a baseline cut to the rim, receiving a Jay Washington pass for a layup to bump Meralco's deficit back to four, but the Bolts found Gary David for a quick drive.

RR Garcia hit back with a three at the 1:05 mark for a five-point spread, but Mike Cortez ended up canning two from the line with 49.8 ticks remaining. On the ensuing play, Jay Washington found himself trapped in a corner off the inbounds, but Batang Pier recovered with Sol Mercado earning a trip to the line for two more points. A turnover by Gary David then had Meralco playing the fouling game to stop the clock.

With 32.5 to go, Mercado took another trip to the line but came up empty. A quick attempt from deep by Mike Cortez couldn't find the mark though, as Mercado split with 17.6 seconds for a six-point spread. John Wilson swished in a triple soon after, as Garcia missed two freethrows with 9.9 seconds remaining. Luckily for Globalport, Marvin Hayes was there to swipe the crucial offensive board. Jay Washington connected for two more on the line with 4.9 remaining to make it a six-point game, before Cortez snuck in a layup just before the buzzer to settle the final score.

Terrence Romeo (C) puts it up against Meralco's Rey Guevarra (R) and Gary David. KC Cruz

GlobalPort had trouble containing Rabeh Al-Husseini and Sunday Salvacion early in the game as the duo scored at will to give the Bolts a 14-6 lead. In response, Batang Pier immediately brought Sol Mercado, RR Garcia and Jondan Salvador off the bench to stabilize their play. The move immediately paid dividends, as the fortified five on the floor went on a 13-0 tear to overtake the Bolts. Triples from Jay Washington and Garcia had Globalport ahead, 19-14.

The Bolts called a timeout with three and a half minutes to play to trip the Batang Pier momentum, responding with four straight easy layups for a 22-21 lead after the first period.

In the second quarter, Batang Pier slowed the game down in the halfcourt, and benefited greatly from Terrence Romeo's playmaking. Twin triples by Mercado capped an 11-6 run, 32-28.

However, Meralco arrested the skid as they looked to push the tempo of the game. Fast break buckets from the Bolts were bolstered by Gary David and Mike Cortez connecting from the arc. While limiting GlobalPort to just one field goal in the last six minutes, Meralco closed the half on an 18-5 blitz, for a 46-37 halftime tally.

GlobalPort dominated on both ends early in the third quarter and found ways to score early in the clock. Washington capped a 12-6 rally with a transition slam off a behind-the-back pass by Rudy Lingganay, slicing the deficit to 52-49.

Meralco was treading water on offense, and their problems worsened when they hit the penalty. Mercado converted two non-shooting fouls into four straight charities to push Batang Pier ahead, 61-60, at the 2:41 mark. Washington then carried them over the hump, as he scored or assisted on their last five points, 66-64, after three quarters.

The Bolts tied it up early in the fourth, 68-68, off a second-chance look by David, but Meralco was clearly out of sync, as they missed easy layups and lacked the spacing they had in the first half. Mercado and Washington took turns keeping the Bolts at bay in the fourth, scoring 11 during a 16-7 stretch, 82-75, with four minutes to play.

Batang Pier shot 31-of-75 (41.3 percent) from the floor, while the Bolts were 32-of-73 (43.8 percent). GlobalPort also led on the boards, 52-37 (including 16-6 offensive). They also led in turnover points (20-6) and fast break points (16-9).

Mike Cortez and Gary David had 18 points and five rebounds apiece for Meralco, while Cortez added six assists. Sunday Salvacion added 15 points, including 4-of-5 makes from the arc. Jared Dillinger had 13 points and six boards, while John Wilson tallied 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists. - RAF, GMA News

The scores:

GLOBALPORT 93 - Mercado 33, Washington 27, Garcia 12, Lingganay 6, Hayes 4, Romeo 4, Salvador 4, Yee 3, Menk 0, Nabong 0, Chua 0, Belencion 0, Salva 0.

MERALCO 89 - David 18, Cortez 18, Salvacion 15, Dillinger 13, Wilson 11, Al-Hussaini 7, Allado 7, Caram 0, Sena 0, Guevarra 0.

Quarters: 21-22, 37-46, 66-64, 93-89

Tags: globalportbatangpier, meralcobolts, pbaseason, philippinecup