Meralco suffers a short circuit against SMB

Meralco suffers a short circuit against SMB

San Miguel 86 vs. Meralco 77

by rick olivares

November 3, 2010

Araneta Coliseum

Nelbert Omolon hung his head after the boner. After taking a pass from Meralco Bolts teammate Chris Ross, the 6’5” forward out of Bukidnon whirled around and passed to another colleague, Yousif Aljamal. Except that Aljamal wasn’t there anymore and the ball went straight to the referee who stepped out of the way.

Omolon sighed as the crowd hooted. It was his second error in the first quarter and he had not played well for a while now. His performance with Meralco could best be described as “maddeningly inconsistent.” For a player who once made the PBA’s Mythical Second Team and All-Defensive Team, it was as if it was the first time he stepped on a pro basketball court.

At halftime against the streaking San Miguel Beermen, Meralco’s youthful head coach, Ryan Gregorio, twice said out loud, “We’re not making stops.” The Bolts were down 31-46 largely because of their 14 turnovers that the Beermen converted 14 fastbreak points and two second chance points.

Gregorio’s troops looked not only lost out on the Maplewood court of the Araneta Coliseum. They were scared. Maybe it’s because they were without leading scorer Mac Cardona who was out with a foot injury. Maybe it was all the losing. Maybe it was because they were up against the winningest ballclub in PBA history. Maybe it was the team’s relative newness and unfamiliarity with one another. Maybe it was everything and a little more. But the first year Meralco head coach made it known that he had seen worse in his career of patrolling the sidelines of the basketball court. He’s always hated losing but what he cannot stomach is a lack of effort.

He called out Omolon, Ross, and rookie Bam Gamalinda at the half. “When you’re on the court, do not hesitate. Mistakes are part of the game but we are not making good passes. I’m putting together a team here. I need to know kung sino yung mga lalaban dito. I need to know who is going to war with me.”

At the start of the third quarter, Omolon came alive scoring nine while pulling down a couple of boards as Meralco was suddenly down by seven, 42-49.

Then it was San Miguel Beer’s Ato Agustin to call on a familiar calming presence for his side. Olsen Racela, the 17-year PBA veteran entered the fray and immediately restored sanity to the Beermen’s offense. Feeding teammates Joseph Yeo, Arwind Santos, and Jay Washington, the Philippine Cup leaders raced to a pair of 20-point leads with the last 74-54 after Yeo nailed a jumper from the left flank.

But Meralco wasn’t done.

Their old warhorses – Asi Taulava and Marlou Aquino – battled back the sands of time to pound their way inside despite getting hammered and blocked by players 10 years their junior. The two combined for 10 points and eight boards.

And the team suddenly began to play with the sense of purpose and urgency that the coaching staff tried to coax out of its team. Except that there was a minute left in the game.

After an Omolon foul that sent San Miguel point guard Alex Cabagnot to the free throw line, Washington grabbed the loose ball following Cabagnot’s miss of his second charity. He swished a jumper from close range that sealed the fate of the Bolts as San Miguel took an 86-77 win that gave them an overall 6-1 record and a match ahead of closest pursuer Talk ‘N Text which is a game behind on account of total matches played.

Meralco fell to 2-5 with seven games to play in the elimination round.

After Omolon hit two free throws after a foul by Beerman Dondon Hontiveros, the lead was down to 73-79.

The Bolts were overmatched but Gregorio came away seeing a fantastic effort from Gabby Espinas who battled his former teammates as he tallied 16 points and 14 rebounds and new find Bam Gamalinda who in 12 quality minutes scored eight points on top of his haul of four boards.

“It’s a young team,” said Gregorio as he surveyed his sullen dugout after the loss. The Bolts oft dig themselves into a hole before charging back with time running out. Today, they once more fell into that disappointing pattern.

San Miguel 86 – Washington 20, Santos 19, Yeo 11, Cabagnot 11, Hontiveros 8, Seigle 2, Ildefonso 4, Pennisi 3, Peña 2, Miranda 0, Artadi 0, Racela 0.

Meralco 77 – Espinas 16, Ross 14, Omolon 11, Gamalinda 8, Taulava 8, Belga 6, Aljamal 6, Weinstein 2, Menor 2, Escobal 2, Aquino 2