Meralco refused to concede defeat and turned to Chris Newsome during crunch time, who delivered a remarkable performance in a 97-88 overtime victory over the Ryukyu Golden Kings on Wednesday in the EASL Home and Away Season at Studio City in Macau.
The Bolts seemed destined for another loss as they trailed 80-76 with 15 seconds remaining in regulation.
However, Newsome executed an improbable three-pointer after a timeout and was fouled by Shota Onodera in the process.
The Meralco guard made the bonus free throw, tying the game at 80 with 10 seconds left.
Vic Law missed a potential game-winning jump shot with one second remaining, leading to an extra period.
In overtime, Newsome contributed seven more points, collaborating with Cliff Hodge, Zach Lofton, and Prince Ibeh to outscore the Golden Kings 17-8, securing the team’s breakthrough win and a 1-2 record in Group B.
Lofton concluded with 35 points, Newsome with 27, and Ibeh with 15 points and 12 rebounds for Meralco, which avenged its 89-61 loss to Ryukyu in their initial encounter in Okinawa, Japan.
Law posted 27 points and nine rebounds for the Golden Kings, who played without import Allen Durham and Filipino Karl Tamayo.
Ryukyu now holds an even 2-2 record.
The Scores
Meralco (97) – Lofton 35, Newsome 27, Ibeh 15, Hodge 6, Almazan 5, Maliksi 5, Dario 2, Banchero 2, Quinto 0, Rios 0, Bates 0, Torres 0,
Ryukyu (88) – Law 27, Imamura 19, Kishimoto 15, Cooley 10, Onodera 9, Tashiro 4, Maki 2, Watanabe 2, Uematsu 0, Arakawa 0, Matsuwaki 0.
Quarterscores: 17-21, 38-37, 57-57, 80-80, 97-88
