Meralco weathered a big third-quarter surge by Blackwater before coming away with the 105-96 victory to finally barge into the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup win column, Wednesday evening at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Bolts actually fired 32 points in the second frame for a 61-39 halftime lead and even led by as many as 24, only to allow their foes to unload 35 in the aforementioned period and cut the gap to as little as three early in the fourth.
But Chris Newsome was there to prevent a collapse from taking place, scoring six points in an 11-0 run toward a 95-81 lead with 4:37 remaining.
Order would be restored, and Meralco would go on to notch its first win of the season after bowing to Titan Ultra and Rain or Shine, respectively.
(C) PBA Images
“We did enough to win the game, but you have to give credit to Blackwater for being resilient,” offered head coach Luigi Trillo, pleased as his wards didn’t completely lose a lead this time like they did versus the Elasto Painters.
Newsome starred in their breakthrough victory with 22 points–10 of which he produced in the last 8:21 of the match–on 6-of-9 shooting from the field.
Cliff Hodge finished with 14 points and eight rebounds. Brandon Bates and Allein Maliksi supplied 13 points each, with the latter adding seven boards.
Raymond Almazan made 12 points and eight rebounds while Aaron Black chipped in 12 as six players scored in double figures in the triumph.
The win should give the Bolts enough morale entering Friday’s rivalry affair as they’re set to face Barangay Ginebra also at the Big Dome.
(C) PBA Images
Sedrick Barefield, on the other hand, poured 34 points as he’s back in action after missing Blackwater’s season opener due to a shoulder injury.
Unfortunately, his efforts weren’t enough to translate into a win. Ditto with RK ilagan, who finished with 22 points–spiked by a pair of four-pointers.
Abu Tratter was the only other double-digit scorer for the Bossing with 11 as star forward Christian David got held to only seven points on 2-of-6 shooting.
Blackwater (1-1) will try to get back on track as quickly as it can when it takes on Rain or Shine on October 24, Friday, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The Scores:
Meralco 105 – Newsome 21, Hodge 14, Bates 13, Maliksi 13, Almazan 12, Black 11, Quinto 7, Cansino 6, Jose 5, Caram 2, Pascual 0, Banchero 0.
Blackwater 96 – Barefield 34, Ilagan 22, Tratter 11, David 7, Mendoza 4, Guinto 4, Jopia 4, Andrade 3, Murrell 2, Panopio 2, Escoto 0, Cruz-Dumont 0.
Quarterscores: 29-24, 61-39, 84-74, 105-96.
