MERALCO seeks a follow-up to its initial win while NLEX eyes a quick turnaround from a loss as they slug it out in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Wednesday.
From a 96-93 upset to the Blackwater Bossing on their opening game, the Bolts dug deep and overcame the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 121-117, in an overtime duel Saturday.
The Road Warriors also split their first two games, winning their conference debut against the NorthPort Batang Pier, 107-100, then falling against the Terrafirma Dyip, 99-95.
Coach Luigi Trillo's chargers and coach Frankie Lim's troops will be up against each other in the Wednesday mainer at 7:30 p.m., disputing win No. 2.
After the initial week of action in PBA Season 48 All-Filipino tourney, Meralco and NLEX are in a four-way logjam at third place with TNT Tropang Giga and NorthPort at 1-1 as San Miguel Beer, Magnolia, Barangay Ginebra and Phoenix have yet to see action.
Sponsored content: Chris Newsome went out early on fouls but his Meralco teammates played on and fought on, getting the job done against the Elasto Painters.
Allein Maliksi top scored for the Bolts with 26 points including three treys while Bong Quinto, Norbert Torres and Cliff Hodge finished with 16 points apiece.
Newsome also wound up with 16 though fouling out early. He also came through with 11 rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes of action.
Meanwhile, Robert Bolick had another explosive game with 29 points but failed to stop NLEX from absorbing a first loss against Terrafirma.
Bolick and his teammates built an early double-digit spread but were beaten by the Dyip with a strong finishing kick.
Sponsored content: Stephen Holt led an array of heroes in Terrafirma's win No. 2 as he scattered 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Holt highlighted his heroics with a crucial defensive stop against Bolick, forcing the NLEX gunner to lose the ball out of bounds from a handoff by Dave Marcelo.
This led to JP Calvo's two dagger free throws off a foul by Sean Anthony that made it a more comfortable four-point cushion going to the last 22.3 seconds. (SB)
