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MANILA, Philippines – Meralco used a strong early start and held off Blackwater to emerge with an 89-85 win over Blackwater and stay in the thick of the PBA Philippine Cup playoff quest on Wednesday at the Foundation of the University of Angeles.
The Bolts took a 25-15 lead late in the first quarter and that proved to be enough cushion to maintain control of the game and improve to a 4-3 record for the seventh seed in the standings.
Blackwater tried to return to the game and went to two, 75-73, after Mac Belo’s layup, but Bong Quinto and Chris Newsome made it an 8-2 run and gave the Bolts an 83-75 margin with 2 : 15 to play in the room.
“This is a great victory for us,” Bolts head coach Norman Black said.
The Bolts were in a precarious position before kickoff as they had to wait for NLEX’s game against Rain or Shine, a game the Road Warriors eventually won, 94-74, to see where they fell in the rankings.
“A loss today, and especially a NLEX win, would see us in the bottom four again. We have difficult games ahead of us, we have to win them if we want to reach the playoffs. “
Newsome led Meralco’s offense with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Reynel Hugnatan, 42, who celebrated his birthday Tuesday, scored 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting to help the Bolts.
Don Trollano finished with 16 points and six rebounds to lead the Elite who fell to 2-5 for the 10th seed.
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