MANILA: In a stunning upset, the Meralco Bolts zapped the Alaska Aces, 83-71, Saturday night in a PBA Philippine Cup road game in Victorias City, Negros Occidental province. The Bolts scored their third win in eight games despite continuing to miss the services of their top gunner Mac Cardona who is still recuperating from an injury. The win also snapped Meralco's two-game losing streak. The Bolts sent the 2010 PBA Fiesta Conference champion Aces crashing to their fourth straight defeat after winning three straight games. As a result, Alaska slid down to a tie for fourth to seventh places with three other teams – Air21, Rain or Shine, and Powerade. Chris Ross starred for Meralco scoring16 points, snatching six rebounds and dishing out four assists. Four other Meralco players had double-digits in an impressive display of collective firepower. Gabby Espinas knocked in 14 points, Asi Taulava had 12, Hans Thiele chipped in 11 while Beau Belga finished with 10 markers. The Aces appeared all set to break their three-game losing streak as they led by 16 points in the third quarter, 55-39. But the Bolts had other things in mind as they suddenly caught fire, launching a 14-0 barrage in the fourth quarter to take a 77-67 lead which they sustained until the final buzzer. The Bolts actually unleashed a whopping 56 points in the last two quarters as they completed one of the biggest comebacks in PBA history.
