FROM hitting the elbow jumper that sealed Meralco’s first-ever PBA championship to sinking the three pointer that helped Gilas Pilipinas clinch a breakthrough win against world No. 22 New Zealand in the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers, Chris Newsome truly has a great season going for him.
The veteran guard underscored his new-found confidence when he buried a clutch three-pointer in the final 69 seconds to help the national team preserved a 93-89 win over the Tall Blacks Thursday night before a full-house crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena.
READ Tim Cone's faith in Josh Reyes pays off in crucial Newsome trey
Newsome finished with 11 points, four rebounds, and three assists off the bench in the Philippines’ third straight win in the qualifiers for the provisional lead in Group B.
The long-time face of the Meralco franchise was also tasked to slow down New Zealand team captain Corey Webster in an undertaking that had got him in foul trouble.
“Despite the four fouls, he came back. Despite the four fouls, he was able to defend without fouling the rest of the way. So that’s amazing. That’s a luxury to have a guy like that coming off the bench,” said Cone of the 34-year-old Fil-Am guard.
The Gilas coach lauded Newsome for sparking Gilas’ comeback after a slow start.
A starter during the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Latvia, Newsome was kept on the bench by Cone as he let Scottie Thompson play as part of the starting unit.
Apparently, Newsome and Cone talked to each other about how the former Ateneo standout will play out his defensive assignment against Webster and the rest of Gilas against the Tall Blacks.
“It was his job to sit on the bench for the first few minutes, check out these guys and figure out how he will play him (Webster). He came out and played these guys really well,” said the Gilas coach.
“I thought he was the one that really got us going defensively after our slow start.”
And then Newsome contributed offensively when Gilas needed it most, hitting a huge three point shot with 1:09 remaining to give the host a 91-84 lead.
The basket of course, was reminiscent of Newsome’s huge fadeaway shot against Don Trollano with 1.3 seconds to go in Game 6 that clinched for Meralco its firstpever PBA championship during the Philippine Cup Finals against San Miguel.
Cone said the play was designed for Justine Brownlee, but Newsome managed to make something out of a broken play.
“That didn’t happen. But Dwight (Ramos) set a screen for New, and New comes off the screen. And there was only six seconds left and they (Tall Blacks) backed off at New, so he had to take that shot,” said the 66-year-old coach.
Newsome obviously let New Zealand pay for it dearly.
“It wasn’t great coaching, it was just great players,” said Cone.
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