Meralco moves ahead, 2-1, in its race-to-four clash for the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup crown against San Miguel.
Carrying the lesson brought by its Game 2 endgame heartbreak, Meralco showed poise and never let up down the stretch to secure a 93-89 Game 3 win and gain the lead over San Miguel in the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup finals on Sunday, June 10.
Chris Newsome delivered the Bolts' last five points before Meralco forced the Beermen to miss their ensuing three attempts in the final 11 seconds.
The Bolts thus erased the stinging memory of Marcio Lassiter's winning triple that enabled San Miguel to steal the Game 2 win the last time out.
[RELATED STORY: IN PHOTOS: San Miguel steals PBA Finals Game 2 from Meralco behind last-minute heroics]
Interestingly, Newsome's finishing blows Sunday included a huge trey in the same spot where Lassiter sunk his.
Talk about exacting revenge in style.
[ALSO READ: IN PHOTOS: Meralco smothers San Miguel to draw first blood in PBA Philippine Cup Finals]
Have a glimpse of the best pictures of Game 3 by One Sports photographer RM Chua.
DEFENSIVE BALLET. Meralco rookie Brandon Bates and San Miguel behemoth June Mar Fajardo battle for the rebound.
BIG MAN JOUST. Meralco's Cliff Hodge soars for a basket against Mo Tautuaa of San Miguel.
June Mar Fajardo suffers from early foul trouble, collecting his third just four minutes into the second quarter.
Meralco's Allein Maliksi and Jeron Teng of San Miguel get entangled in a heated exchange, earning them double technical fouls heading into the last three minutes of the first half.
Brandon Bates collars the rebound, drawing a foul from San Miguel's CJ Perez.
Mo Tautuaa sizzles in the first three quarters, dropping all of his 19 points there before going scoreless in the fourth.
Former San Miguel star Alex Cabagnot of the famed 'Death Five' reacts during the intense Game 3 battle between the Beermen and the Meralco Bolts.
Brandon Bates and June Mar Fajardo reach for the loose ball.
Meralco's Bong Quinto goes for a basket against Don Trollano of San Miguel earlier, but his biggest one comes late in the match – a triple that gives the Bolts an 88-84 cushion with only three minutes to go.
Last match's endgame heroes Marcio Lassiter and CJ Perez cannot whip up the same magic this time against Meralco.