Lofton drops 54 in PBA debut as Bolts sink weary Batang Pier

Stand-in import Zach Lofton exploded for 54 points as Meralco doused and sank the streaking NorthPort, 122-99, in the 2023 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City on Sunday, Dec. 12.

Lofton introduced himself to the PBA fans in an emphatic fashion, dissecting the Batang Pier defense and simply scoring at will to power the Bolts to their third straight win for a 5-1 record in the standings.

The 6-foot-4 reinforcement, who was tapped in lieu of Meralco’s original import choice Su Braimoh after he suffered an Achilles injury, was on target from deep with nine triples that highlighted a 17-of-29 shooting from the field.

Lofton, who made a case for a possible permanent job as Bolts reinforcement, dropped 20 of his total in the third frame when Meralco went on a massive 43-16 quarter outburst turning a once tight 49-48 affair into a complete domination.

When the dust settled, the Bolts were already up by 28 points – a lead that ballooned to as high as 38 points in the final frame.

With Meralco going for a smaller import with Lofton, Raymond Almazan stepped up and manned the paint well with a double-double of 11 points and 15 rebounds. Rookie Brandon Bates also helped out with 11 boards across his name.

Allein Maliksi also joined the shootout to finish with 18 points while Chris Newsome chipped in 11 points.

Playing their third game in five days, the weary legs showed up for the Batang Pier in the second half where they just couldn’t put a body in front of Lofton and stop him from his fiery offensive display.

Still it was a crushing loss for NorthPort which was riding the momentum of its huge upset win over San Miguel just last Friday. Venky Jois, who sat out the last game, made his return but was far from his usual form and only mustered nine points and nine rebounds.

Rookie Fran Yu tried to make up for it with a career-high 31 points built on six triples while Arvin Tolentino, the league’s leading local scorer, also had a great game with 25. All of their efforts, however, went down the drain as the Batang Pier slid to a 5-3 record in the standings.