THE Meralco Bolts survived a furious comeback attempt by the Magnolia Hotshots to come away with a 91-86 win in Game Three of the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup on Friday afternoon, October 8, 2021, at the Don Honorio Ventura State University gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.

With their top big man Raymond Almazan on the mend because of an ankle sprain, the Bolts got off to fast start and led by as much as 21 points before the Hotshots found their rhythm and pulled to within three, 86-89, after center Raffi Reavis made a putback with 28 seconds to go.

However, Meralco answered right back with a jumper by Chris Newsome with six ticks left that sealed the victory for the Bolts and trim the series deficit to 2-1.

Newsome had 17 points, six rebounds and four assists while Nard Pinto stepped up to score16 points and grab five boards. Mac Belo and Nonoy Baclao also came off the bench and had productive afternoons, scoring 14 and 10 markers, respectively.

Paul Lee had 18 points to lead Magnolia in scoring while Ian Sangalang chipped in 15. (JNP)