By JAY R. GOTERA
MANILA — Rising star Baser Amer exploded with a game-high and career-high 32 points to lift the Meralco Bolts to a nail-biting 103-100 overtime victory over the TNT KaTropa Texters, levelling their PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals series at 1-all on Wednesday night.
The Meralco guard also had six rebounds and four assists. His heroics more than made up for the lackluster performance of import Alex Stepheson, who fouled out with still 1:54 left in the game, finishing with just 7 points, 13 rebounds, and two blocks.
The Meralco victory thus extended the series with TNT to a deciding Game 3 on Friday night as the Bolts became the only team to extend their quarterfinal series to the limit.
The winner of that match will go up against the top-seeded Barangay Ginebra Kings in a best-of-5 semifinals beginning on Sunday.
Cliff Hodge and Kelly Nabong also played huge roles in the Meralco victory, both dishing out 15 points reach. Hodge also had 10 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and four blocks while Nabong came off the bench to grab six boards.
Chris Newsome added 12 markers, five boards, and five assists, while Jared Dillinger chipped in 12 points, along with four rebounds and six assists.
Nabong scored Meralco's last three points from the free throw line, to ward off TNT's last-ditch attempt to sweep the series.
Even with stomach flu still bothering, import Josh Smith still led TNT with 18 points.
Kelly Williams stepped up to churn out 16 points and 8 rebounds off the bench. New acquisition RR Garcia added 14 points, including four three-pointers, aside from dishing out five assists.
Jayson Castro and Anthony Semerad added 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Star 84, Rain or Shine 69
The Star Hotshots clinched a semifinals berth, drubbing the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters for a second straight game, 84-69, to sweep their quarterfinal series.
The Hotshots thus arranged a best-of-5 semifinals showdown against the San Miguel Beermen, with Game 1 set on Saturday, June 10.
Ricardo Ratliffe once again dominated both ends of the court, finishing with team-highs of 26 points and 24 rebounds.
Held for just two points in the first three quarters, Mark Barroca finally found his grove in the final period, scoring 10 more points to spark the Star breakaway.
The Hotshots won despite a miserable offensive night overall, hitting just 35 percent of their shots (30 of 86) from the field. The Painters actually had a better shooting percentage at 42 (27 of 64), but this didn’t matter as the Hotshots turned to their defense to bail themselves out of trouble.
Paul Lee tormented his former team, posting 13 points, two boards, and one assist in 33 minutes.
PJ Simon added nine markers, six of them in the payoff period.
Duke Crews was the lone double-digit scorer for Rain or Shine with 12.
Game Friday: Meralco Bolts vs. TNT KaTropa Texters (best-of-3 quarterfinals; Series tied 1-1).
