MERALCO wrapped up its elimination round with a hat-trick of victories, overcoming Barangay Ginebra, 82-73, on Friday night in a PBA Philippine Cup game that saw Kings coach Tim Cone thrown out on two technicals.
The Bolts broke away from a 71-71 tie in the final four minutes with a finishing flurry sparked by Cliff Hodge's time three-point play out on their way to wrapping up the eliminations with a 6-5 win-loss mark.
READ Tim Cone ejected after losing his cool over referees' calls
With the win in the low-scoring game, Meralco duplicated its trajectory in the 2024 Philippine Cup eliminations where it came back from a 3-5 win-loss record to win their final three games. The Bolts went on to win the franchise's first-ever PBA title.
The Bolts finished the game on a 12-2 blast with Hodge starting that run on a three-point play off a follow-up with 3:36 left.
Ginebra slipped to 5-3 at the end of a three-game winning streak.
The game that had a bearing in the quarterfinal race saw nine deadlocks and 10 lead changes. The Bolts sealed their place in the playoffs as the Gin Kings fell into a share of fourth place with Rain or Shine and grand slam-seeking TNT.
“This game mattered,” said Meralco coach Luigi Trillo. “You could see it from both sides how emotional it was.”
“At the end, I think it was an ugly game. It came down to defense and rebounding for us, and that’s our identity,” Trillo added.
Chris Newsome finished with 15 points, six rebounds, one steal, and two blocks, while Chris Banchero added 14 points, four rebounds, and three steals. Cliff Hodge had 11 points and seven rebounds.
Scottie Thompson had 16 points and seven rebounds, while Jamie Malonzo also had 16 points for the Gin Kings.
The scores:
Meralco 82 – Newsome 15, Banchero 14, Hodge 11, Quinto 10, Cansino 10, Rios 5, Black 5, Almazan 4, Jose 4, Bates 4.
Barangay Ginebra 73 – Malonzo 16, Thompson 16, Rosario 14, Abarrientos 12, J. Aguilar 12, Holt 3, Cu 0, Gray 0, David 0.
Quarters: 17-17; 37-37; 61-56; 82-73.
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