Meralco goes back-to-back
Games today (AUF Sports Arena Powered by Smart 5G) 4 p.m. – Terrafirma vs NorthPort 6:45 p.m. – San Miguel vs Alaska Chris Newsome did an encore of his endgame heroics from Tuesday’s outing and the Meralco Bolts surged to their second consecutive win in the PBA bubble in Pampanga. Hero of their 109-104 overtime verdict over Magnolia, Newsome took charge anew and scored seven of his 18 points in the last 4:27 as the Bolts trounced NLEX, 101-92, to jump to joint fourth with a 3-2 card yesterday. In that crucial stretch at the Smart 5G-powered AUF Sports Arena, Newsome knocked down three clutch jumpers and fed Allein Maliksi for a roaring triple that all but sealed it for Meralco, 99-89, with 1:20 to go. The versatile Fil-Am, who also grabbed six rebounds and posted the same number of assists, deflected the credit and pointed to team play. “I’m proud of the guys. For us, it’s not about who scores the most or who wins player of the game; it’s about everybody doing their share and doing their part. We’ll get the win as long as everybody contributes and stays positive,” said Newsome. Four of his teammates finished in double figures. Maliksi chipped in 17 while Baser Amer and Raymond Almazan shot 11 apiece and Cliff Hodge had 10 in the victory posted on the 32nd anniversary of coach Norman Black’s feat as the only import to reach the 10,000- point plateau in the league.
“We want to be one of the teams that really plays with a lot of teamwork and shares the basketball and we did that tonight,” Black said of his team’s well-distributed point production.
Phoenix unleashed a strong finishing kick to steal a 91-84 verdict over fading Magnolia and arrest a two-game slide.
The Fuel Masters hit six three-pointers in a searing 31-13 windup to complete their fightback from 17 points down and improve to 3-2. With another fourth-quarter collapse after a hot start, the Hotshots skidded to three straight and fell to 1-4. The scores: First Game Meralco 101 – Newsome 18, Maliksi 17, Amer 11, Almazan 11, Hodge 10, Black 9, Quinto 9, Jamito 7, Hugnatan 6, Jackson 3, Faundo 0, Jose 0, Pinto 0, Caram 0.
NLEX 92 – Ravena 30, Semerad 16, Alas 10, Cruz 9, Porter 8, Ayonayon 7, Soyud 6, Quinahan 6, Miranda 0, Varilla 0, Ighalo 0. Quarterscores: 25-17, 41-39, 73-65, 101-92 Second Game Phoenix 91 – Wright 23, Perkins 20, Chua 14, Garcia 12, Intal 8, Jazul 7, Napoles 4, Marcelo 2, Heruela 1, Gamboa 0, Rios 0.
Magnolia 84 – Banchero 20, Sangalang 15, Reavis 12, Lee 10, Barroca 10, dela Rosa 7, Melton 3, Jalalon 3, Corpuz 2, Calisaan 2, Abundo 0, Pascual 0.
Quarterscores: 22-16, 34-39, 60-71, 91-84