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PBA: Slaughter, Aguilar earn praise for limiting Meralco's Onuaku

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/tvpatrol/07/10/20180709-arinze-onuaku.jpg"/><figcaption>Meralco&#x27;s Arinze Onuaku (5) is defended by Ginebra&#x27;s Japeth Aguilar. PBA Media Bureau photo</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA, Philippines – Meralco import Arinze Onuaku has been a big reason for the Bolts’ success in the 2018 PBA Commissioner&#x27;s Cup.With the 6-foot-9 import manning the middle, the Bolts finished the elimination round with a 7-4 win-loss record – good enough for the No. 4 seed in the quarterfinals. Onuaku averaged 17.91 points and 16.64 rebounds per game during their campaign in the eliminations.But in the playoffs, Meralco ran into a team that was well-equipped to defend their import. The Bolts are facing Barangay Ginebra in the best-of-3 quarterfinals, and in Game 1 of the series, the Gin Kings recovered from a slow first half to seize an 88-81 win.Onuaku’s numbers? Twelve points on 5-of-11 shooting, 18 rebounds, and two steals. Respectable, but not enough especially against Barangay Ginebra.Getting most of the credit for limiting Onuaku were Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar, who alternated in defending the import.“I thought Greg did a great job on Onuaku tonight. Japeth came out and got a couple of steals from the post. He (Onuaku) wasn&#x27;t as big as a presence as we thought he was going to be,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.“Greg played really well tonight. Japeth denied him really well while Greg used his size to distract him,” noted Ginebra import Justin Brownlee, who also had his turn against the much-bigger Onuaku.At 7-feet and 6-foot-9, respectively, Slaughter and Aguilar had enough size to bother Onuaku and at least limit his impact on the boards. Cone was especially impressed with how Slaughter defended the Meralco center.“Greg played him real smart tonight,” the coach said. “(But Onuaku) still got some numbers, he got his great rebounding, he&#x27;s an incredible rebounder.”Slaughter deflected the praise, saying: “You just got to find ways to beat him, because he’s such a big guy. You can’t beat him with brute force.”“Fortunately, sometimes I was able to run the floor on him and get some easy dunks,” he added.The Gin Kings are aware that Onuaku and the Bolts will come back with a vengeance on Wednesday’s Game 2, however. With this in mind, Brownlee is calling on his teammates to stick to what worked for them in Game 1 of the best-of-3 series.“It’s not really going to be one guy (against Onuaku),” he said. “It’s going to take a team effort.”<div>For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.</div>

MANILA, Philippines – Meralco import Arinze Onuaku has been a big reason for the Bolts’ success in the 2018 PBA Commissioner's Cup.

MANILA, Philippines – Meralco import Arinze Onuaku has been a big reason for the Bolts’ success in the 2018 PBA Commissioner's Cup.

PBA: Slaughter, Aguilar earn praise for limiting Meralco's Onuaku

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PBA: Slaughter, Aguilar earn praise for limiting Meralco's Onuaku

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 10, 2018 12:12 AM PHT

Read More:

PBA

PBA Commissioner's Cup

Barangay Ginebra

Meralco Bolts

Arinze Onuaku

Greg Slaughter

Japeth Aguilar

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