MERALCO lived to fight another day, beating Rain or Shine, 96-79, to force a rubber match in the PBA 50th Season Philippine Cup quarterfinals, Saturday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The seventh-seed Bolts led by as many as 34 points, taking advantage of a cold-shooting Elasto Painters squad in the first half.
Chris Newsome and Jansen Rios drilled the dagger shots in the fourth quarter for Meralco after Rain or Shine came to within 12 points in the final minutes.
Meralco lives to fight another day
Meralco and Rain or Shine will meet again for a place in the semifinals on Monday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The Bolts were up, 56-22, late in the second quarter, the biggest lead of the game that was built after they shot 14-of-21 from the field in the first quarter on their way to a 35-15 lead.
In contrast, Meralco fired just 4-of-16 in the first quarter.
"We started out well," said Meralco coach Luigi Trillo. "We didn't thought that will happen. Rain or Shine is a tough team."
Newsome had 14 points and six rebounds including a jumper that sealed the deal for Meralco for a 94-75 lead.
Prior to Newsome's shot, Rios had a seven-point swing including a three that made it 90-75 for Meralco. Rios ended up with 12 points.
Adrian Nocum had 17 points and Gian Mamuyac had 16 points for Rain or Shine, which showed signs of life in the third quarter after outscoring the Bolts, 29-20.
Meralco's lead, however, was just too much and Rain or Shine has now lost two in a row including their final elimination round match-up against Barangay Ginebra in Bahrain last December 17.
The scores:
Meralco 96 – Newsome 14, Hodge 14, Cansino 14, Rios 12, Black 12, Almazan 9, Banchero 8, Quinto 6, Bates 5, Pascual 2, Reyson 0.
Rain or Shine 79 – Nocum 17, Mamuyac 16, Norwood 9, Clarito 9, Tiongson 6, Santillan 6, Malonzo 6, Pringle 5, Lemetti 5, Porter 0, Caracut 0, Asistio 0, Villegas 0, Belga 0.
Quarters: 35-15; 58-31; 78-60; 96-79.
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