Meralco repulsed Converge and gained an outright quarterfinals berth.
Allein Maliksi always sets his mind on one thing: efficiency.
Maliksi said that’s what matters more for him, and he was that and more on Sunday as the Meralco Bolts repulsed the Converge FiberXers, 105-99, in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
The Bolts gunner fired 20 points on a 8-for-14 shooting from the field, including 4-for-7 from the three-point area to help the Bolts clinch a quarterfinals berth with a 6-1 win-loss record.
“For me, as long as I’m efficient everytime I’m inside the court, ‘yun talaga ang goal ko, efficiency sa scoring and focus sa defense,” he said after the match at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo.
Coach Luigi Trillo agreed.
“Allein has just been solid all the time. If you noticed, the last two games, siya at si (Chris) Banchero have brought it for us. That’s Allein for you,” he said of Maliksi, who also had seven rebounds.
But it’s not just him.
Banchero also had a spectacular outing with 21 points on an equally efficient 7-for-9 shooting clip. He added three rebounds and two steals in 23 minuntes of action. Import Zacho Lofton heated up anew and dropped 30 points to go with eight rebounds and two assists.
“It’s a total team effort. Everybody contributed,” Trillo said of his Bolts, who are playing some inspired basketball as of late.
As impressive as they were, the Bolts will have to forget about this win and get back to the drawing board right away as they gear up for a titanic clash against nemesis Barangay Ginebra San Miguel on Friday.
Game time is set at 8 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
(MDB)