Hurting Meralco tries to bounce back from shameful loss

Games today:

Araneta Coliseum

5:15 p.m.- Globalport vs. Meralco

7:30 p.m.- San Mig Coffee vs. Air21

PLAYING against a team on a major slump may just be the break that Meralco needs following a horrendous experience the last time out.

The Bolts look to bounce back from a heart-rending loss Wednesday night when they take on the slumping Globalport Batang Pier in today’s first game at the Araneta Coliseum.

Meralco is coming off a 98-102 loss to the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters—a game they could have easily won if not for huge third-quarter meltdown.

The Bolts seemed headed for a big win against one of the league’s top teams after they built a big 26-point lead (50-36) in the third quarter.

Disaster, however, struck when the Bolts fell into a maze of errors and the Painters started hitting their shots.

Solomon Mercado tried to save the Bolts from the humiliating loss when he knocked in three-straight triples inside the closing seconds that allowed the team to force overtime and a chance redeem themselves.

Meralco ultimately fell in the end and went on to absorb its fifth loss against the same number of victories.

While Meralco is aching to bounce from that sorry loss, Globalport is also hard-pressed to salvage a much-needed win to finally stop a six-game losing skid.

Batang Pier is mired at the bottom of the standings with nine defeats against a solitary victory.

Getting back on track will also be the goal when the San Mig Coffee Mixers and the Air21 Express collide in the main game.

San Mig and Air21 both saw their win streaks come to an end after dropping their last assignments.

The Coffee Mixers’ win streak ended at five after they got waylaid by the defending champions Talk ’N Text Tropang Texters, 63-92, last Wednesday night. With the loss, the Coffee Mixers, instead of moving up to the number one spot, dropped to third place with a 7-3 (win-loss) record.

Air21’s three-game win streak was also halted after it bowed to Rain or Shine last Saturday, 62-71. The Express are at eighth spot with a 4-6 card. /EDITORIAL ASSISTANT CALVIN D. CORDOVA