Chris Banchero steps up as Meralco stuns league-leading NorthPort
MANILA, Philippines – The Meralco Bolts sent the NorthPort Batang Pier crashing back to earth following a 111-94 rout in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Tuesday, January 14.
Veteran point guard Chris Banchero turned back the hands of time as he stepped up for the Bolts with a conference-high 25 points on an efficient 10-of-15 shooting, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists, while their import Akil Mitchell posted his usual double-double numbers of 30 points and 13 rebounds.
With the win, Meralco rose to a 6-3 card and dealt league-leading NorthPort — which is coming off a rousing victory over Barangay Ginebra — only its second loss of the conference for a 7-2 slate.
“First of all, NorthPort has been playing really good basketball. They deserve every win, they’ve been taking down a lot of quality teams, Hong Kong and Ginebra. And like some of the coaches said, they are the real deal,” said Meralco head coach Luigi Trillo.
“But I think today we played better defensively,” added Trillo as Meralco limited NorthPort to its lowest scoring output this conference and held the Batang Pier to a rough 3-of-16 shooting from beyond the arc, compared to the Bolts’ 11-of-31 clip.
Banchero and Mitchell wasted no time making their presence felt as they poured in 14 and 15 points, respectively, in the first half as the Bolts entered the break with a 54-44 cushion.
NorthPort got back to within 6 points midway through the third, 61-67, but that proved to be the closest they could get as Meralco continued to fire on all cylinders, even pushing its lead to as many as 22 points, 109-87, with 2:39 left in the game.
Import Kadeem Jack paced the Batang Pier in the loss with his own double-double of 29 points and 14 rebounds, while Arvin Tolentino and Joshua Munzon added 19 and 12 markers, respectively.
However, Tolentino and Munzon combined for a lowly 7-of-21 field goal clip as they were hounded all game long by the Bolts’ stifling defense.
The Scores
Meralco 111 – Mitchell 30, Banchero 25, Newsome 15, Quinto 8, Rios 8, Cansino 7, Mendoza 6, Caram 5, Almazan 4, Reyson 2, Pascual 1, Bates 0, Hodge 0, Torres 0.
NorthPort 94 – Jack 29, Tolentino 19, Munzon 12, Navarro 11, Nelle 8, Onwubere 7, Miranda 5, Yu 3, Flores 0, Bulanadi 0, Taha 0, Cuntapay 0, Tratter 0.
Quarters: 24-21, 54-44, 82-69, 111-94.
– Rappler.com