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MANILA, Philippines – Meralco succeeded in his revolt and brought down the five-year-old San Miguel dynasty with a masterful 90-68 victory in the quarterfinals of the PBA Philippine Cup on Sunday at the Angeles University Foundation.
The Bolts are now in their first semi-final appearance at the All-Filipino Conference and will face championship doom at Barangay Geneva, a club that had already beaten them three times in the Governors’ Cup finals in the past four years.
Upping the ante early on, Meralco built a sizable 10-point lead, 21-11, at the end of the first and was quick to dispel any retaliation from the defending champs.
Marcio Lassiter tried to bring the Beermen closer in the third with a pair of 3s early in the fourth to cut the deficit to six, 43-37, but the Bolts were ready for any comeback.
Meralco responded with a 9-2 run that Baser Amer capped with a triple that gave the Bolts a 53-39 lead with 8:05 left in the third.
Then, Allein Maliksi capped off another scoring wave for the Bolts, this time a 16-0 run for a 69-43 lead with 2:56 left in the period.
“It feels great to beat them not just because they are San Miguel but because we are in the semifinals,” Bolts head coach Norman Black said. “They are also great because they won five championships in a row, but I am happy to be here.”
Cliff Hodge and Amer each had 14 points to lead the Bolts as they grabbed 13 rebounds combined.
Reynel Hugnatan had a near-double-double of 12 points and eight rebounds, while Maliksi added 11 points.
Moala Tautuaa and Lassiter each contributed 20 points for the Beermen.
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