In a game which could very well decide who gets the top two spots in the 2018 PBA Commissioner's Cup, the Meralco Bolts displayed their full arsenal against Alaska Aces on Sunday.
Arinze Onuaku was his usual self down low, nabbing 14 points and 23 rebounds, but the locals were the ones who shone brightest.
Chris Newsome topscored for the team with his 18 points and eight boards, Baser Amer collected 17 points, six assists, and four rebounds, and Jared Dillinger got 17 points and three boards in Meralco's 89-74 win.
And for Dillinger, their performance was a strong testament of the Bolts' readiness to step up when it's their turn to shine.
"We just did our job. Everyone stayed in their lane," he said. "Alaska had a good strategy and seemed like they wanted to get the ball off of Arinze. So we just wanted to make sure we were available in our spot for Arinze to find us and for us to make our shots."
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Newsome was steady all game long, while Dillinger and veteran sniper Ranidel de Ocampo were pivotal in Meralco's pullaway in the third quarter.
But aside from their individual contributions, it was the defense which did the trick for the Bolts as they held the Aces to just 33-percent shooting in the period against their sky-high 61-percent clip.
"We're just getting shots and making stops, that's what it's about. Defense wins championships and we played good defense tonight," said Dillinger.
But the 34-year-old forward knows not to put too much mustard on this victory, knowing that the bigger wars are still ahead of Meralco.
"We've been here. Every time we have an import like Arinze, we contend for a top spot," he said as the Bolts sit at 6-2, tied for second in the standings.
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"Eliminations don't mean anything. We're gonna celebrate tonight and it's back to work on Monday."(DL)
