MANILA – Chris Newsome delivered timely shots in the endgame as Meralco Bolts pulled off a 93-89 victory over San Miguel Beermen in Game 3 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Down 88-89 after two free throws by Beermen’s June Mar Fajardo, Newsome knocked down a wide-open corner three-pointer to give the Bolts a 91-89 advantage with 34 seconds left.
The Beermen had a chance to force a deadlock but Jaymar Perez missed on a layup. Newsome then drilled two free throws to make it a 93-89 score with 11 seconds remaining.
Newsome finished with 26 points, majority came in the second half, to go with four rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and a steal as the Bolts surged to a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Raymond Almazan added a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds, Kier John Quinto contributed 16 points, and Chris Banchero and Clifford Hodge ended with 10 markers apiece for the Bolts.
It was a tight exchange for both teams almost the entire game with the Bolts clinging to a 71-70 lead after three quarters before taking an early 75-70 edge in the fourth on back-to-back baskets by Almazan.
The Beermen responded with their own run to tie the score at 77-all before taking an 80-79 edge on a Marcio Lassiter triple, but the Bolts got the lead back at 81-80 on two free throws by Newsome.
Both teams exchanged lead from that point with the Beermen down 84-85 after a split free throw by Perez before the Bolts widened the lead to 88-84 via a three-pointer from Quinto with three minutes left.
The Beermen rallied to within 87-88 courtesy of Fajardo and Perez, but they could not take the lead due to their missed free throws before Fajardo gave SMB the lead for the last time at 89-88 via two free throws.
Moala Tautuaa top-scored for the Beermen with 19 points, Perez added 18 markers, Fajardo and Lassiter tallied 12 apiece, while Celedonio Trollano and Jeron Teng ended with 11 and 10 points, respectively./PN
BOX SCORE:
MERALCO 93 — Newsome 25, Almazan 17, Quinto 16, Banchero 10, Hodge 10, Maliksi 8, Pascual 2, Bates 2, Torres 2, Rios 0, Caram 0.
SAN MIGUEL 89 — Tautuaa 19, Perez 18, Lassiter 12, Fajardo 12, Trollano 11, Teng 10, Cruz 7, Ross 0, Brondial 0, Enciso 0.
Quarterscores: 28-24, 48-46, 71-70, 93-89.
