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There is no better way to reinforce Norman Black’s claim that this season’s team is the best Filipino club he has trained in six years at Meralco than to end one of the PBA’s longest-running dynasties.
On Sunday, the Bolts completed their loss to San Miguel with an emphatic 90-68 victory in their quarter-final match, ending the Beermen’s five-year reign as PBA Philippine Cup champions.
The Bolts not only beat the Beermen, they dominated them from the start. The fifth-seeded players led as many as 28 points and never wavered en route to a landslide victory at the University of Angeles Foundation Sports and Cultural Center.
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Overcoming the deficit twice to win, Meralco launched a rancor with Barangay Geneva in a best-of-five semifinal series that begins Wednesday.
The Bolts have lost to the Kings in three of their championship matches in the Governor’s Cup, but now they will face their nemesis in the semifinals and in a non-imported conference.
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TNT Tropang Giga and Phoenic face off in the other Final Four showdown.
“It’s been a real ride,” said Black, who led the Beermen to the 1989 Grand Slam, “to start with the pandemic and not be able to practice and be called to practice for a short period of time and then have to play without really knowing. what will happen “.
“We got off to a slow start to this conference, but we were able to pick it up as we got in better shape. I am happy for my players. I am happy for the management. I am happy for the company that we reached the semifinals in the Filipino. “
Cliff Hodge scored eight of his 14 points in the third quarter as the Bolts outscored the Beermen, 32-19, to nearly end the game and series. He also had six rebounds and three assists.
Baser Amer, Reynel Hugnatan and Aaron Black combined to give the Bolts a 21-11 lead in the first quarter that set the tone for the game.
Amer added 14 points on 3-of-8 shooting from 3, while Reynel Hugnatan added 12 points and eight rebounds for Meralco, who also got 11 points from Allein Maliksi. Rookie Black added nine points.
Only seven San Miguel players scored in the game. Mo Tautuaa and Marcio Lassiter each had 20 points, but had little support.
“Tonight, our focus was on defense. We knew what we wanted to do defensively. We knew they were a team that participated most of the time, so we tried to come up with plans to try and stop Mo Tautuaa and his guards. It worked really, really well because the players executed the game plan, ”Black said.
The loss ended a disappointing and injury-plagued campaign for the Brewers, who, without June Mar Fajardo, also lost Terrence Romeo inside the bubble.
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Scores:
Meralco 90 – Hodge 14, Amer 14, Hugnatan 12, Maliksi 11, Black 9, Newsome 9, Quinto 9, Almazan 8, Jackson 2, Jamito 2, Jose 0, Salva 0, Pinto 0, Caram 0.
San Miguel 68 – Lassiter 20, Tautuaa 20, Santos 10, Ross 7, Cabagnot 6, Zamar 3, Alolino 2, Pessumal 0, Comboy 0, Gamalinda 0, Escoto 0.
Quarters: 21-11; 43-31; 75-50; 90-68.
