Despite Matthew Wright’s scoring outburst, the Meralco Bolts hung tough late and prevailed over the Phoenix Fuel Masters in overtime, 103-100, in their 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup encounter, on Friday evening at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The Bolts thus earned their fifth victory in seven outings, while the Fuel Masters fell to 3-4 win-loss card.
Niño Cañaleta tallied 30 points on 12-of-28 field goal shooting including six triples, while Baser Amer came up huge in end game for a 19-point output. Arinze Onuaku added a triple-double of 12 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Failing to close out the Fuel Masters in regulation after Dillinger muffed his free throws and Wright drilled a game-tying trey, the Bolts immediately went on to score five straight points for a 95-90 lead.
Wright tried to revive Phoenix, which was only down by one, 100-101, but his jumper with four ticks left failed to hit its mark, and Cliff Hodge sank the free throws to ensure the win for Meralco.
The loss spoiled the explosion of Matthew Wright, who finished with 28 points on 6-of-10 shooting from downtown, along with six assists and four boards, as well as Jason Perkin’s career-high 28 points.