MERALCO turned to import Tony Bishop to roll back Terrafirma, 107-95, in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

Bishop posted his seventh straight double-double with 26 points and 11 rebounds to power the Bolts to victory over the Dyip.

Allein Maliksi added 18 points, six assists and four rebounds for Meralco, which assured itself of a quarterfinals berth with its sixth win in seven games.

“We did not want to stumble again, knowing that the elimination round is coming to an end pretty soon and everybody’s fighting for position,” said Meralco coach Norman Black in an interview posted at the official PBA website.

The Bolts can actually secure a top four finish and a twice-to-beat advantage in the next round if they rack up more wins in their remaining four elimination round games.

They also join early qualifiers Magnolia Pambansang Manok and NLEX in the eight-team quarterfinals.

“We wanted to stay in the top four, so we didn’t want to fall today,”added Black. “We just want to come out and run as much as possible, play good defense and get a win.”

The loss dropped Terrafirma to2-6.

The Dyip are now hard-pressed to sweep their last three games.

Later, Jamel Artis scored 16 of his game-high 42 points in a no-relief performance as NorthPort held off erstwhile unbeaten Magnolia, 103-101.

Jamie Malonzo added 19 points, five rebounds, two steals, and two blocks and Arwind Santos added 14 points, eight rebounds and four blocks fir the Batang Puer, who improved to 2-5.

“This win is the work of the players. They did their work today, talagang puso, hard work, trabaho,” said NorthPort coach Pido Jarencio.

“I challenge the players, it’s your time to shine. Kalaban pa Magnolia, the top team. Make or break tayo; pag natalo, baka malabo na makapasok ng playoffs,” added Jarencio, who missed thenservices of Robert Bolick and Kevin Ferrer.

Bolick is currently playing for Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers.

Mike Harris led Magnolia with 34 points and 12 rebounds.

The scores:

First game

Meralco ( 107)– Bishop 26, Maliksi 18, Hodge 16, Quinto 11, Newsome 10, Black 8, Almazan 7, Banchero 6, Caram 5, Baclao 0, Pasaol 0, Canete 0, Jose 0.
Terrafirma (95) — Hester 23, Munzon 17, Tiongson 13, Daquioag 11, Camson 10, Cahilig 6, Gabayni 5, Batiller 3, Pascual 3, Ramos 2, Calvo 2, Balagasay 0, Go 0.
Quarterscores: 30-26, 60-45, 89-73, 107-95.

Second game

NorthPort (103) – Artis 42, Malonzo 19, Santos 14, Sumang 10, Taha 9, Balanza 5, Doliguez 2, Abundo 1, Rike 1.
Magnolia (101) – Harris 34, Barroca 16, Lee 14, Dionisio 11, Jalalon 10, Sangalang 9, Corpuz 4, Ahanmisi 3, Reavis 0, Wong 0, Brill 0.
Quarterscores: np 33-21, 58-46, 77-62, 103-101.