Saudi Gazette MANILA — The Meralco Bolts defeated the Alaska Aces, 107-101, Friday night to assure themselves of a top 2 finish and a twice-to-beat advantage in the upcoming quarterfinal rounds of the PBA Commissioner's Cup. Meralco firmed up its grip of the solo top spot with its eighth win in 10 games while Alaska settled for a tie at third to fifth place with Barangay Ginebra and Rain or Shine, all with a 6-4 card. San Miguel Beer is at solo second at 6-3. Import Arinze Onuaku led Meralco with 28 points and 19 rebounds in over 41 minutes of action on the court. Jimmy Alapag added 16 points while Jared Dillinger and Chris Newsome chipped in 16 and 11 markers, respectively. The Bolts are making a complete turnaround from their dismal campaign last conference where they won just one game and ended at the bottom of the pack. Calvin Abueva was again the main man for Alaska with a team-high 27 points and nine boards in just over 29 minutes of play. Import Shane ShaneE contributed 12 points and seven boards. RJ Jazul, Chris Banchero and Cyrus Baguio added 12 markers each. GlobalPort 125, Phoenix 118 GlobalPort import Shawn Taggart and top gunner Terrence Romeo combined for a whopping 85 points to lead the Batang Pier to a 125-118 victory over the Phoenix Fuel Masters. Taggart poured 45 points on top of 18 rebounds while Romeo sizzled for 40 markers as the already eliminated Batang Pier ended their Commissioner's Cup campaign on a winning note despite finishing with a bottom-low 3-8 win-loss card. GlobalPort played the spoiler's role as their victory also ended the playoff hopes of Phoenix which absorbed its seventh loss in 10 games. The Fuel Masters needed to win their last two games to remain in contention for a spot in the quarterfinals. Romeo was red-hot right from the start, exploding for 17 points just in the first quarter where he nearly single-handedly fought off the Fuel Masters. Romeo already had 25 points after the second quarter while Taggart had 22 points and nine rebounds. The Fuel Masters tried to keep the game close, but the Batang Pier managed to repulse all their comeback attempts with their dazzling display of offensive power. RR Garcia paced Phoenix with 21 points, 12 of them in the fourth quarter where he engaged his old college teammate Romeo in a shootout. Mick Pennisi added 17 while import Kevinn Pinkney could only produce 11 points and seven rebounds. Game Saturday: Tropang TNT (5-4) vs. Mahindra Enforcers (4-5). ˇ
