Meralco nearly squandered a 17-point third quarter lead but did just enough to stun erstwhile unbeaten San Miguel in the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup on Saturday, March 4.
Meralco did what no other team had done in the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup.
The Bolts dealt San Miguel its first loss, 95-92, in 11 games to punch a ticket to the playoffs on Saturday, May 4.
Meralco thus avoided the trouble of having to go through a wringer as it assured itself of a seat in the top six where it will figure against another team in a best-of-three slugfest in the quarterfinals.
Allein Maliksi returned to the floor with eight minutes to go in the match, scoring a couple of baskets that helped ward off San Miguel's repeated charge while also pulling down a defensive board and dishing an assist in that crucial stretch.
He finished with a second-best 19 points to provide ample support to Cliff Hodge who put up a double-double outing with 20 points and 17 rebounds.
Chris Newsome chipped in 17 points, six assists and three steals, Bong Quinto scored 12 while Chris Banchero added 10.
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Behind June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez, the Beermen got into the thick of battle and trimmed what was once a 16-point deficit at the start of the fourth to two, 91-93, with 2:33 to go.
Gift shots by Chris Banchero allowed the Bolts to stay afloat at 95-91, but San Miguel, despite struggling with a woeful 1-for-4 shooting from the line in the succeeding stretch still had a chance to tie the match as they trailed just by three points with 2.7 ticks left on the clock.
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But with its own goal of making the quarterfinals in mind, Meralco clamped down on defense, forcing Perez to launch a three-pointer from way beyond the arc that went off, preventing the Beermen from completing a rare elimination round sweep in the league that was last done by TNT 10 years ago.
The Bolts instead secured a 6-5 record to join their conquered foe San Miguel, Ginebra (7-3), Magnolia (6-4) and Rain or Shine (6-5) in the next round.
Fajardo finished with a double-double of 23 points and 19 rebounds, Jericho Cruz and Don Trollano logged 14 markers each while Perez was held to eight.
The Scores:
MERALCO 95 – Hodge 20, Maliksi 19, Newsome 17, Quinto 12, Banchero 10, Caram 6, Almazan 6, Bates 5, Pascual 0, Dario 0, Pasaol 0, Torres 0
SAN MIGUEL 92 – Fajardo 23, Cruz 14, Trollano 14, Lassiter 9, Perez 8, Romeo 8, Enciso 6, Tautuaa 4, Brondial 4, Manuel 2, Teng 0, Ross 0
Quarterscores: 27-20, 52-44, 82-66, 95-92