CHRIS Newsome buried the go-ahead three with 34.1 seconds left as Meralco grabbed a 2-1 lead in the PBA 48th Season Philippine Cup Finals after edging San Miguel, 93-89, on Sunday night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The Meralco guard finished with 26 points including two free throws with 11.3 seconds left to wrap up the win that enabled the Bolts to reclaim the upper hand in the best-of-seven finals after squandering a late four-point lead in Game Two last Friday.
'New' atones for miscue
Newsome also made up for a miscue in the previous possession that enabled San Miguel to regain the upper hand in the final minute of another low-scoring, grindout game.
Instead of claiming the ball for a backcourt violation, Newsome allowed CJ Perez to keep the ball alive and steal the possession. It led to June Mar Fajardo getting fouled and nailing two free throws that enabled SMB to grab an 89-88 lead.
But Meralco still turned to Newsome and the star guard delivered, hitting the trey from the left corner – the same spot where Marcio Lassiter made the go-ahead three-pointer in Game Two – that got the Bolts ahead again, but this time for good.
Raymond Almazan chipped in 17 points and 13 rebounds, while Bong Quinto added 16 points and six rebounds for the Bolts, who will go for a 3-1 advantage in Game Four on Wednesday, also at the Big Dome.
“This game may have been a win but clearly, we need to improve some things,” said Meralco coach Luigi Trillo. “We won but we are not satisfied with the last three, four minutes. There were certain things as a group that we need to do and we didn’t do some of those.”
Mo Tautuaa led San Miguel with 19 points and six rebounds. Perez had 18 points but missed two free throws with his team down, 88-87. After the Newsome trey, Perez also misfired on a lay-up that would have tied the game.
San Miguel was already in front, 66-59, in the third, its biggest in the game, but Newsome almost singlehandedly brought Meralco back into the game. The Bolts even led, 71-70, at the end of the quarter.
The scores:
Meralco 93 – Newsome 26, Almazan 17, Quinto 16, Banchero 10, Hodge 10, Maliksi 8, Torres 2, Pascual 2, Bates 2, Caram 0, Rios 0.
San Miguel 89 – Tautuaa 19, Perez 18, Lassiter 12, Fajardo 12, Trollano 11, Teng 10, Cruz 7, Enciso 0, Ross 0, Brondial 0.
Quarters: 28-24; 48-46; 71-70; 93-89.
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