Chris Newsome delivered in the clutch as Meralco averted a meltdown to escape San Miguel, 93-89, and take the 2-1 lead in the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup Finals, Sunday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The star guard finished with 26 points, including the Bolts’ last five points as he made sure that no repeat of Game 2 would take place after engaging in yet another nip-and-tuck affair with the defending champions.
He first nailed the go-ahead trey from the left pocket – almost at the same spot where Marcio Lassiter beat them two nights ago – with 34.1 seconds to go as a result of the five on the floor’s patience in finding the open man.
Then he made both of his charities off CJ Perez’s duty foul with 11.3 ticks left to seal it, much to the delight of their faithful that trooped to the Big Dome.
“They’re looking for me, giving me the confidence to take the open shots. They’re encouraging me to be aggressive,” said Newsome, who submitted a full stat line as he also had four rebounds, four assists, a steal, and two blocks.
“That’s Meralco basketball for you. It’s not just about one person. It’s about the whole team that feeds each other’s confidence and when one guy’s down, we love to encourage each other,” added the 33-year-old.
By hacking out the win, Meralco has given itself an opportunity to move closer to the crown in Game 4 on Wednesday at 7:30 PM in the same venue.
It wasn’t just Newsome who made the triumph possible, though. Raymond Almazan, for one, submitted his best showing of the series to date with 17 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out with under a minute left.
Bong Quinto had 16 points, while Cliff Hodge registered yet another double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Chris Banchero had 10 also as all starters finished in double figures in the hard-earned victory.
“We expect the best from everybody. We’re trying to get the best out of everybody on our team,” Newsome said.
“Sometimes, there’s going to be a little bit of tough love there. But at the end of the day, it’s all out of good intentions because we all know what we’re striving for, we all know what we want. So you definitely got to give credit to the team,” he added.
Right from the start, Coach Luigi Trillo and Nenad Vucinic’s wards brought it to San Miguel, so much so that June Mar Fajardo already had three fouls in his first nine minutes.
Perez would have the same amount of fouls before the first half ended, leaving two of the opposition’s top gunners hounded by foul trouble that early.
Yet nothing was guaranteed for the Bolts, who, after leading by as many as eight points, saw themselves facing a 59-66 deficit during the third canto.
But having learned their lesson in the previous match, the crew slowly chipped away the deficit. Banchero made sure to take the lead back, 71-70, entering the final frame – setting up the tight finish.
Eventually, they managed to come out triumphant thanks to Newsome, whose big endgame shots capped off what was a solid second-half showing for him that saw him score 20 of his points after being silent in the first two quarters.
Now they’re up 2-1 in the series but none from the team refuses to get confident whatsoever, having been in that same spot in the past only to end up losing.
Top-scoring for San Miguel, meanwhile, was Mo Tautua’a with 19 points and six rebounds as he stepped up with Fajardo saddled by foul trouble.
Perez had 18 points but needed 19 attempts, and also went 5-of-11 from the foul line that included two crucial misses with 1:34 left. The shots could have put them ahead had he made both as they were staring at an 87-88 deficit then.
Fajardo had 12 points and 15 rebounds against seven turnovers and four fouls total. Lassiter had 12 as well on three treys, alongside five boards.
Don Trollano made 11 points, while Jeron Teng added 10 in the defeat.
The Scores:
Meralco 93 – Newsome 26, Almazan 17, Quinto 16, Banchero 10, Hodge 10, Maliksi 8, Torres 2, Pascual 2, Bates 2, Rios 0, Caram 0.
San Miguel 89 – Tuatuaa 19, Perez 18, Lassiter 12, Fajardo 12, Trollano 11, Teng 10, Cruz 7, Ross 0, Brondial 0, Enciso 0.
Quartercores: 28-24, 48-46, 71-70, 93-89.
