[Editors' note: Fifth of a series as we reveal SPIN.ph's choices for its yearend Sportsman of the Year awards, which is now on its 12th year]
BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETES OF 2024
MERALCO delivered one of the feel good stories of 2024 by finally winning its first-ever PBA championship.
Not only did they win the league’s crown jewel, the Philippine Cup, the Bolts also did so in style, taking down mighty San Miguel in the best-of-seven finals.
In an epic Game 6 to remember, Meralco’s heart-and-soul Chris Newsome rose to the occasion and buried a clutch fadeaway jumper for the kill, 80-78, before a huge crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Newsome was named Finals MVP in a fitting reward for a man who has played his entire career with the franchise.
On the road to the title series, the Bolts also had to knock out many-time tormentor Barangay Ginebra in a sudden-death Game 7, which served as a harbinger of things to come.
Fourteen years since it brought the Sta. Lucia franchise, Meralco officially joined the pantheon of PBA champions in a milestone that earned the organization the recognition as SPIN.ph Breakthrough Athletes of the Year.
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