By Ivan Saldajeno
QUEZON CITY--Jared Dillinger committed a costly error in Game 1 of the PBA Governors' Cup quarterfinals between Meralco and Blackwater when he was slapped with a flagrant foul penalty 1 that eventually paved the way for Blackwater to pull a late surge to force a rubber match.
"I made a mental lapse in the end. I've been kicking my butt ever since," Dillinger recalled the blunder.
Fast forward to the knockout showdown on Thursday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Dillinger sizzled from downtown, going 5-for-9, which made up for his entire field goal clip and the entirety of his 15 points.
However, most of those triples turned out to be huge as they helped the Bolts comeback from 12 points down at the half to finally eliminate the Elite and preserve their top seed status.
[Related Story: Meralco survives early Walker onslaught, ousts gritty Blackwater]
"I just dug deep and finally hit the shot that went in. After that, everything else just kinda start becoming a little bit easier," Dillinger said about his second half explosion that came following a quiet first half.
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