MANILA — Willie Miller exploded for 33 points and 11 rebounds to lead the GlobalPort Batang Pier to a stunning 105-104 win against the Meralco Bolts Wednesday in the 2012-2013 PBA Philippine Cup at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. Two rookies – Jason Deutchman and A.J. Mandani – also played a huge role in the Batang Pier's first win in the conference after three losses. The two drilled the crucial baskets in the homestretch to steal the game from the Bolts who were leading for most parts of the game. Deutchman churned in 20 points, including three clutch triples in the final canto. His last three-point shot allowed GlobalPort to seize the lead, 100-99, with 1:13 left. After the Bolts failed to score, Mandani completed a three-point play to pad GlobalPort's lead to 103-99. Mandani finished with 12 points. Meralco's Ronjay Buenafe knocked in a three-pointer to cut the deficit to one, 102-103. But Batang Pier struck back as center Rabeh Al-Hussaini sank two charities, giving GlobalPort a three-point lead. Without a timeout left and with just five seconds remaining, Meralco's Sol Mercado suffered a grievous mental lapse as he went for a layup, which went in as the buzzer sounded, instead of a three-pointer to force overtime. Mercado realized his mistake after the game. “I thought we were down two,” he said in the post-game interview. “If I knew that we were down by three, I wouldn't go for a layup. It was indeed a mental lapse on my part.” The Bolts suffered their second loss in four games despite the stellar performance of Mercado and Ronjay Buenafe who both scored 30 points apiece. The Bolts suffered a double whammy as they found out after the game that some of their personal possessions were stolen by thieves who broke into the team's locker room. In the main game, the defending champions Talk N Text Tropang Texters seized the solo lead in the conference with a methodical 96-89 beating of the Air21 Express. It was the Texters' third straight victory while the Express tumbled to their third defeat in four games. Jimmy Alapag led the Texters with 16 points, including 4-of-6 from beyond the three-point arc. Ranidel De Ocampo chipped in with 19, while Jason Castro and Kelly Williams contributed 14 each. Nino Canaleta led the Express with 21 while John Wilson and Wynne Arboleda scored 18 and 14, respectively.
