Hurting Cardona lifts Bolts to a close win over Express

Make way for Meralco’s own version of Mr. Clutch. Mac Cardona, the Bolts’ main source of firepower, reaffirmed his role as the team’s go-to-guy by scoring seven of his team’s last eight points and carrying Meralco to a tense 95-93 win over Air21 Sunday in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum. With his team down by four, 87-91, with less than two minutes left, Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio called on only one number, which was Cardona’s. The former La Sale standout scored on a floater off a transition play with 1:31 left to trim the deficit to two. In Meralco’s next offensive thrust, Cardona sank a go-ahead triple from the left elbow with 1:04 remaining, giving the Bolts a 92-91 edge. The Bolts made a stop in the next play and Cardona again hit a basket off a transition play to make it a 94-91 lead for Meralco, 23 seconds left. Air21’s Ronjay Buenafe scored on a lay-up off a Meralco turnover with 15.7 ticks left to keep the Express breathing, 93-94. Hans Thiele then split his charities in the next play with 14.3 seconds left, giving Air21 a chance to either tie or snatch a win. But the Express failed to come up with a good play as slotman JR Quinahan accidentally picked up the ball off a broken play. He missed a triple with three seconds remaining, allowing the Bolts to escape with the win. Cardona, who is still recovering from a leg injury, finished with a game-high 23 points, with seven assists and three steals. ‘’Mac (Cardona) saved us tonight. It was a tight game and our best player carried us and gave us the win. He stepped up when it mattered most. It was a great game for him. We were down, but we didn't give up. When you don't give up, sometimes you just get rewarded,’’ said Gregorio. It was the first back-to-back wins for the young franchise, with Meralco improving to 4-5 in the team standings. Slumping Air21 dropped its third straight loss and fell to 3-6. Thiele filled the spot vacated by veteran slotman Asi Taulava, who was loaned to the PHL-Smart Gilas team. Without Taulava, Thiele saw extended minutes and produced a career-high 16 points in providing substantial support for Cardona. Rabeh Al-Hussaini came up with another impressive game for the Express, leading his team with 20 points, while Buenafe contributed 17. - KY, RCJ, GMANews.TV