SMART CLARK GIGA CITY – It was a shot which Chris Newsome claimed he’s done so many times in practice that he was confident enough it will not miss its mark.
All Newsome was trying to beat was the game clock.
“It’s a shot I’ve practiced hundreds of times," said the Fil-Am guard. “Once I was able to get to the spot and rise up, the only thing I was focused on was the rim. Luckily, I got it to go in just in time."
Newsome’s fadeaway jumper off CJ Perez capped Meralco’s thrilling 95-93 win over a fighting Terrafirma side on Sunday at the Angeles University Foundation gym, boosting the Bolts’ bid for a Top 4 finish heading to the playoffs.
It was the second time in the bubble Newsome came through in the clutch for the Bolts, reprising the heroics he did in the team’s 109-104 overtime win over Magnolia.
With the score tied at 93-all and seven seconds remaining in the game, the Bolts called for time to map up a winning play.
Despite losing a 20-point lead early on, Meralco had been playing a splendid team effort that the coaching staff had a discussion on who will take the final shot, according to Newsome.
“We had six people in double digits tonight, so it made it hard for them (coaching staff) to pinpoint who was gonna take the shot,” he said.
But coach Norman Black decided to go to his best player.
“Just get him (Newsome) the ball and get out of the way,” said Black.
Newsome did his thing on the court, draining the tough jumper at the buzzer as Meralco bounced back from a 79-92 loss to TnT Tropang Giga and improve to a 6-4 tally.
But the 30-year-old former Rookie of the Year gave credit to the entire team for the victory, and Black for trusting him to take the last shot.
“Coach Norman has trusted me this whole conference and drew up a great play. All we wanted was a good look at the basket to give us a chance,” he said. “Coach put us in the right spots and I was able to get the shot off."
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