MANILA — Despite having an import who just planed in from the United States a day before his team's first game, the Meralco Bolts had a rousing debut in the 2013 PBA Governors' Cup, coming from behind to defeat the Petron Boosters, 89-83, Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Shaking off jet lag, last-minute import replacement Mario West led the Bolts with 23 points and 11 rebounds to the delight of Meralco head coach Ryan Gregorio. “It's a nice win to start the conference especially after the apprehension we had on our import,” Gregorio said, adding that West only had one practice with the team before game time. The Petron loss spoiled the coaching debut of Gee Abanilla as the Bolts found ways to limit the production of highly touted Petron import Elijah Millsap, particularly in the second half. Millsap still led the Boosters with 24 points. But he was held to just six points in the last 24 minutes of the match when the Bolts unleashed a sizzling run. The Boosters appeared to be in full control of the game, scoring nearly at will inside and outside the paint in the first half. But Petron's offense suddenly cooled down in the second half as their shooting percentage dipped to 38.8 percent. Although standing just six-foot-four, veteran center Reynel Hugnatan outplayed Petron rookie center, the 6'10” June Mar Fajardo. Hugnatan finished with 20 points for Meralco while Fajardo had 12. In the opener of Friday's double-header, Tony Mitchell exploded for 48 points and 11 rebounds as he almost singlehandedly powered the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters to a pulsating 118-113 victory in overtime against the Barako Bull Energy Cola. The Texters won despite the absence of Jimmy Alapag, Ranidel de Ocampo, Jayson Castro, and Larry Fonacier — four key players who were part of the Gilas Pilipinas national team that took the silver medal in the just concluded FIBA Asia championship. The four Texters have been given a two-week rest period by management before plunging back into action. Harvey Carey was also missing in the TNT bench as he is in the United States preparing for his wedding. Stepping up big-time in the absence of nearly half the TNT roster, new acquisition Sean Anthony made a smashing debut for his new club, finishing with 23 points and eight rebounds against the team that traded him in the off-season. Substitute point guard Jai Reyes also shone for TNT, chipping in 11 points. It was a heart-breaker for Barako Bull which led for most parts before TNT unleashed a scorching 21-0 blast in the third quarter that radically changed the complexion of the game. Import Mike Singletary led the Energy Cola with 41 points while Mark Macapagal had 24 markers.
