Undermanned Meralco sends Blackwater to record-setting 19th straight loss

Playing without three of their key players, the Meralco Bolts were able to avert a late-game meltdown and send Blackwater to a record-setting 19th straight loss, 104-97, in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup Saturday at the DHVSU Gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.

Allein Maliksi posted 21 points and 10 rebounds while Raymond Almazan stepped up big for the Bolts, grabbing 15 points, 17 rebounds, and three blocks as they improved to 7-2 and boosted their chances for a twice-to-beat quarterfinal edge.

Mac Belo was also crucial against his former team after listing eight markers, four boards for Meralco, which was missing the services of Chris Newsome, Cliff Hodge, and Aaron Black.

Blackwater ended a winless campaign at 0-11 and 0-19 dating back to last season, setting a new mark for most consecutive losses in PBA history. They were paced by KG Canaleta who produced 15 points off the bench while Mike Tolomia and Richard Escoto chipped in 15 each as well.

"We're looking at getting at the number two spot so that we can have an advantage come the playoffs but, of course, our main goal is to get into the finals and get the championships," said Maliksi, who's celebrating his birthday today, during the post-game interview.

Meralco was able to hike the lead to as big as a 29 points after Almazan split his free throws, 75-46, with 6:55 left to play in the third quarter.

But Blackwater, desperate to list its first win of the season, unleashed a 10-0 run in the final quarter to trim the deficit to a single-digit, 75-56.

Noy Baclao then completed both his charities before the Bossing iginited for another 12-0 rampage to make it a 77-68 affair but the third canto still ended with Meralco leading 85-71.

Blackwater was able to come to as close as 100-95 after a long bomb from Simon Enciso but he missed another triple that would have sent the game to a one-game possession affair.

The defeat, though, still saw an improvement compared to Blackwater's previous game against NLEX where its 90-73 loss tied the franchise to Great Taste/Presto for most consecutive losses at 18.

"Our problem was we were off for a couple of weeks and we lost a little bit of our conditioning during that time and we're still just trying to get that conditioning back now," said Meralco head coach Norman Black.

"At the same time, we're still missing three players. Two starters, basically."

The scores:

Meralco (104) - Maliksi 21, Almazan 15, Jackson 14, Hugnatan 14, Quinto 10, Belo 8, Caram 8, Pasaol 7, Baclao 6, Jamito 1, Pinto 0.

Blackwater (97) - Canaleta 15, Escoto 15, Tolomia 15, Enciso 14, Torralba 12,  Daquiag 9, Magat 8, Cruz 4, Golla 3, Dennison 2, Desiderio 0.

Quarterscores: 31-14, 61-38, 85-71, 104-97.

—JMB, GMA News