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The Meralco Bolts survived a late collapse and held off Painters Rain or Shine Elasto, 85-78, earning their fifth victory in the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup on Thursday at the Angeles University Foundation Sports Arena.
The Bolts nearly blew a 23-point lead they built in the third period, but did enough late in the game to clinch victory, to improve to 5-3 in the standings.
The Bolts prepared the perfect storm after halftime when they unloaded 28 big points and held the Elasto Painters to just seven in the third inning. With a 48-46 lead, Meralco unleashed a brutal 22-2 run capped by a layup from Cliff Hodge. A bucket from Jammer Jamito gave Meralco his biggest lead of 23 points, 74-51. The Bolts were a quicker step in that crucial period, while their opponent was left scrambling for points.
Chris Newsome led Meralco with 17 points, along with five rebounds and four assists. Baser Amer, meanwhile, put up a full performance of 14 points, six rebounds and seven dimes.
“We really talked about trying to come out strong in the third quarter,” Meralco coach Norman Black said. “In some of the past games that has been one of our weaknesses, coming off the bench strong at halftime. So I was very, very happy with our defense. Our offense was clicking against their zone defense because they were playing a zone. almost in the whole game. In that third quarter we were hitting and executing very, very well. “
Rain or Shine, however, countered with a furious rally in the final frame. Rookie Vince Tolentino proved to be the spark plug for his team, scoring six points to help his team get back into the game. Elasto Painters also came to life on defense, forcing turnovers on the Bolts.
3s by Adrian Wong and Mark Borboran put Rain or Shine back in the fray with one minute remaining. Norbert Torres’ free throws made it a six-point game, 82-76, with 49.2 seconds left.
Newsome gave Meralco the cushion he needed after making his late free throws to seal the victory.
Rain or Shine got a big boost from James Yap, who scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds, but did most of his damage in the first half. Beau Belga and Torres contributed 11 points each and had five rebounds each.
The Elasto Painters have now lost back to back and now hold a 4-3 record. On the other hand, the Bolts are in a position to be in the top four. However, Coach Black wants to keep his team in the present.
“I think it will probably take six wins to guarantee that you make the playoffs,” Black said. “Five will probably give you a draw that we are trying not to do so you still have to get more wins to make sure and guarantee we get in. But we will try to win our next game.”
THE SCORES
MERALCO 85 – Newsome 17, Amer 14, Hugnatan 13, Maliksi 9, Quinto 8, Hodge 8, Black 5, Almazan 4, Pinto 1, Jackson 0
RAIN OR BRIGHTNESS 78 – Yap 18, Belga 11, Torres 11, Nambatac 8, Tolentino 6, Borboran 6, Wong 6, Mocon 5, Onwuber 3, Norwood 2, Ponferada 2, Rosales 0
Quarters: 27-28, 46-44, 74-51, 85-78
ADDITIONAL JARS
-Rain or Shine averaged 7.17 fast break points in six games, but none against Meralco.
-The Bolts had an advantage in key statistical categories like field goal percentage (43), rebounding (55) and assists (24).
NEXT GAMES
Meralco vs TNT Tropang Giga, 6:45 pm on November 7
Rain or Shine vs Magnolia Hotshots, 4:00 pm on November 7
