Is anyone still surprised that Meralco is now up 2-1?
The Meralco Bolts had an amazing finish against an anemic windup by the San Miguel Beermen to recapture a one-game, 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven series of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup.
That happened on Sunday, June 9, when the Bolts won a stirring Game 3 thriller, courtesy of Chris Newsome. Newsome keyed a 93-89 victory before a sizable crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum that included yet again Sen. Bong Go, a rabid PBA fan.
With the Beermen holding an 89-88 lead in under a minute left, a 5-0 blast by the Bolts produced the Finals’ fiercest finish yet—mainly through a guy named Newsome with the winsome smile.
Left open in the left corner with 34.1 seconds left, Newsome fired a three that swooshed the nets, returning the lead back to Meralco, 91-89.
To do that, Newsome, Meralco’s cornerstone from Day One, received a quick feed from Chris Banchero from left quarter court, and a stunned Mo Tautuaa was way too late in attempting to parry the dagger.
San Miguel had a chance to fight back through CJ Perez after Newsome’s killer triple.
But Perez, SMB’s most reliable slasher, bungled a lay-up that could have tied it at 91. Earlier, he also muffed two free throws with SMB trailing, 87-88.
The Bolts then milked the clock, and, with 11.3 seconds remaining, Newsome took a shot-clock stopping foul. He sealed the win by sinking both free throws for the final 93-89 count.
Newsome totaled 26 points in again leading Meralco, whose cohesion was seen to the hilt as its starting five all scored in double figures.
The 6-foot-7 Raymond Almazan scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in his worthiest game thus far, while tremendously helping contain SMB’s 6-foot-10 June Mar Fajardo as well. Fajardo, grinding out an early foul trouble, could only score 12 points in his lowest output in the series.
Bong Quinto had 16 quality points, and Banchero and Cliff Hodge each scored 10 points in Meralco’s win.
It’s definitely a big plus for the league to see underdog Meralco ahead of the heavily favored San Miguel Beer. The role reversal is a sure thrill for the perennially pro-underdog fans.
Can Meralco sustain the momentum?
We’ll see on Wednesday (June 12).