CHRIS Newsome buried a clutch jumper with 0.8 seconds left as Meralco opened its defense of the PBA Philippine Cup championship with a 91-89 comeback against Converge on Friday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Newsome attacked as the final seconds ticked away, stopped on a dime inside the shaded area, and, after faking off two defenders, hit the mid-range jumper that broke an 89-89 standoff with a split second left in the clock.
That basket capped an 8-0 finishing kick for the defending champions, who trailed by as many as 20 points at one point and by six with two-and-a-half minutes left to play against an inspired FiberXers side.
Alec Stockton’s hurried turnaround shot missed the mark in the final possession of the game.
Meralco won the ballgame despite being down, 27-7, early in the contest.
The Meralco finishing kick included a trey each by Bong Quinto and Newsome to tie the game at 89. Cliff Hodge stole a pass intended for Justine Baltazar at the post and Newsome faked off Stockton and Schonny Winston before making a pull-up jumper from mid-range.
The Gilas Pilipinas player nailed the winning basket despite rolling his ankle in the third quarter and nursing five fouls.
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Meralco coach Luigi Trillo was glad to come away with the victory even with a performance that left a lot to be desired.
“We just had to grind it out. We didn’t have a good first quarter. We give credit to Converge, they were playing well. [Newsome] had a sprain, couple of calls against him at the start so he got into foul trouble. I don’t think it was one of his better games but he bailed us out with that shot,” said Trillo.
Newsome wound up with 15 points, six rebounds, and four assists, while Bong Quinto had 14 points and six rebounds for Meralco. Raymond Almazan added 13 points, 12 rebounds, and two blocks for the Bolts.
Converge was still ahead, 89-83, with 2:21 left before falling apart in the endgame.
Justin Arana had 23 points and six rebounds, while Stockton had 17 points in a losing effort in their first game under a rejigged coaching staff that included Pampanga governor Dennis Pineda being the lead deputy of head coach Franco Atienza.
The scores:
Meralco 91 – Newsome 15, Quinto 14, Almazan 13, Black 10, Jose 10, Reyson 8, Caram 6, Rios 5, Hodge 3, Pascual 2, Cansino 2, Bates 0, Pasaol 0.
Converge 89 – Arana 23, Stockton 17, Baltazar 14, Winston 13, Garcia 6, Santos 5, Delos Santos 4, Caralipio 2, Racal 2, Corpuz 2, Nermal 1, Ambohot 0, Suerte 0, Santos 0.
Quarters: 22-34; 42-44; 63-66; 91-89.
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