Chris Newsome nailed the go-ahead bucket with 3.9 seconds left to tow Meralco past Blackwater, 116-114, for its second win in a row in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Tuesday night.
The star guard came through under duress time and again. And in the end, he made sure not to waste Chris Banchero’s pass to close out a wild sequence, which saw both squads exchange misses in an attempt to break the 114-all deadlock.
The Bossing had one last chance to take the game away and went to RK Ilagan in the final possession. But the spitfire playmaker lost control as the ball hit his foot and rolled all the way to the backcourt while the final buzzer sounded.
Newsome finished with 16 points, as his clutch hit enabled the Bolts to avert disaster after they coughed up a 110-92 lead early in the payoff period.
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“They had no quit,” said head coach Luigi Trillo as he gave credit to their foes’ strong comeback. “That’s a testament to what Coach Pat {Aquino} has been doing. They’re playing really well. You have to give credit to Blackwater.”
“Good thing that we were able to shoot that last shot on that pass to New. But again, you credit Blackwater,” added the champion bench tactician.
Antonio Hester led Meralco with 25 points and 12 rebounds as the team improved to 2-1 since he came along as Jordon Varnado’s substitute.
Banchero also finished with 16 points, alongside three rebounds and four assists to spearhead the bench mob. CJ Cansino supplied 15 points, while veteran big man Cliff Hodge came through with 12 points and seven boards.
“Being up by 18 points and crumbling is not what we want to do as a team. We’ll work on that next practice,” said Banchero. “But you gotta give them credit. They’re a tough team; they’re aggressive. It’s not easy. They’re playing well.”
The Bolts will try to stretch their winning streak to three when they take on the Magnolia Hotshots this Friday, July 24, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
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Sedrick Barefield had a game-high 29 points, eight of which he made in the final period, to lead Blackwater, which lost for the first time after a 2-0 start.
Kentrell Barkley supplied another double-double of 28 points and 10 rebounds while Ilagan produced 20 as the troika bannered their offense anew.
Before that game-losing turnover, the diminutive Ilagan was responsible for tying the game at 114-all through back-to-back hits with 1:31 remaining.
It was just unfortunate, however, that his jumper from mid-range proved to be their last basket. The team tried desperately to finish the match in its favor, but to no avail, putting its comeback efforts from 18 down in vain.
Up next for Coach Pat Aquino and his men is Barangay Ginebra, whom they will be facing this Friday as well — hoping, of course, to pull off an upset.
With this result, the Phoenix Fuel Masters have taken the solo lead in Group B with a clean 3-0 record, followed by Meralco and Blackwater with 2-1 cards.
The Scores:
Meralco 116 – Hester 25, Banchero 16, Newsome 16, Cansino 15, Hodge 14, Maliksi 8, Quinto 7, Black 6, Brickman 5, Mocon 2, Bates 2.
Blackwater 114 – Barefield 29, Barkley 28, Ilagan 20, Panopio 11, Austria 9, Tratter 7, Demusis 4, Una 2, Murrell 2, Escoto 2, Mendoza 0, Dumont 0.
Quarterscores: 26-29, 61-57, 98-81, 116-114.
