Meralco leaned on Chris Newsome anew in crunch time in Game 5 of the finals to inch closer to dethroning mighty San Miguel in the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup on Friday, June 14.
Chris Newsome delivered the huge baskets in the fourth period as Meralco stumped San Miguel, 92-88, to move a win away from hoisting its first-ever title in the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup Finals on Friday, June 14.
After dropping a career-high 40 points in the Bolts' Game 4 loss last Wednesday, June 12, Newsome sustained his form and was once again reliable at crunch time to get the win this time for a pivotal 3-2 lead for Meralco in the best-of-seven finale.
Newsome contributed six in a 10-2 salvo to help give Meralco its biggest lead in the match at 88-78 with 5:19 remaining in the game.
Behind CJ Perez and recently awarded 10-time Best Player of the Conference June Mar Fajardo, the Beermen clawed back from that double digit deficit and got to as close as 88-90 with 7.2 ticks to go.
But Newsome sank a pair of pressure-packed free throws to seal the crucial victory for the Bolts.
It is now Chris Newsome's turn to spoil June Mar Fajardo's 38-point, 18-rebound showing. | Photo (c) Sherwin Vardeleon
The Gilas mainstay had a lot of help this time, with Allein Maliksi also finishing with 22 points.
Raymond Almazan had 14 points and four rebounds, all while making Fajardo work for his new season-high 38 points and 18 rebounds.
Chris Banchero and Bong Quinto combined for 20 markers.
“Both teams are always ready. It’s a best-of-seven series. I don’t think anybody is gonna have their guard down,” said Meralco coach Luigi Trillo.
“You can see every game has been close, has been tight. That last game, though, we didn’t do a good job at certain things we needed to do. Today its a little bit of a struggle, could have gone either way. We just have to move forward to the next game.”
CJ Perez fired 17 points for the Beermen, but shot 4-of-16 from the field, and grabbed 10 rebounds.
The Scores:
MERALCO 92 – Maliksi 22, Newsome 22, Almazan 14, Banchero 12, Quinto 8, Bates 6, Hodge 6, Caram 2, Rios 0, Torres 0, Pascual 0
SAN MIGUEL 88 – Fajardo 38, Perez 17, Lassiter 6, Romeo 6, Cruz 6, Tautuaa 5, Trollano 5, Ross 3, Manuel 2,
Quarterscores: 24-25, 47-46, 69-70, 92-88