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Chris Newsome threw big baskets as Meralco edged out Magnolia with a 109-104 overtime victory Tuesday night in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Angeles University Foundation Sports and Cultural Center.
Newsome hit a light 3-pointer with more than two minutes left on the extension to put the Bolts in front definitively at 102-100, before making a difficult jump in the right corner, 10.2 ticks to go, to extend the lead to 107-104.
Magnolia tried to send the game into a second overtime, but Paul Lee, whose two free throws forced the extra session, missed a jump shot on the three-point line before Raymond Almazan sealed the final score by scoring two free kicks. .
The Bolts bounced back from Sunday’s 105-91 loss to Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and improved to 2-2 despite trailing 77-67 early in the fourth quarter.
Lee shot 32 points, the game’s high, but Magnolia, playing without Ian Sangalang and Rome dela Rosa due to injuries, suffered a second straight loss and fell to 1-3.
With starting point guard Baser Amer struggling, the Bolts got a big boost from rookie Aaron Black and Trevis Jackson, whose consecutive 3s allowed them to take the lead 91-90, 57.2 left in the fourth.
But Meralco was unable to preserve the victory in regulation time as Jackson split his two free throws while ahead, 94-92, and John Pinto recklessly fouled Lee, who calmly sank both charities to equalize the score. with 13 seconds.
Newsome tried to go for the win in the closing seconds, but attempted a difficult jump when time ran out.
“I told the players, ‘Hey, we’re in overtime, so we still have a chance to win the game. Let’s go out there and win the game. Let’s not worry about what happened, just focus on what’s in front of us, ‘”Bolts coach Meralco Black said.
“And the guys really played really well in overtime,” added Black, who saw Newsome, Meralco’s leading scorer with 23 points, make up for his failed attempt.
Taking advantage of being open, Newsome drained a 3-pointer from Cliff Hodge’s offensive rebound that gave Meralco the aforementioned 102-100 lead.
Hodge hit two free throws and Magnolia’s Jackson Corpuz hit a layup before Newsome split his free kicks and Mark Barroca hit a bench shot to cut Meralco’s lead to 105-104.
The Bolts’ Reynel Hugnatan missed a three-point attempt, but Hodge passed the ball to Newsome, who then fired a jump shot off Barroca for 107-104.
Aaron Black had a season-high 16 points and Jackson added 10 to give Meralco stability in the backcourt with Amer limited to just one point. Hodge finished with 12 points and nine rebounds and Hugnatan added 11.
Scores:
MERALCO 109 – Newsome 23, Black 16, Hodge 12, Hugnatan 11, Jackson 10, Quinto 8, Almazan 8, Maliksi 8, Jamito 8, Pinto 4, Amer 1, Caram 0.
MAGNOLIA 104 – Lee 32, Barroca 17, Jalalon 13, Banchero 13, Corpuz 12, Melton 6, Reavis 4, Pascual 4, Dionisio 3, Calisaan 0.
Quarters: 19-25, 46-46, 73-67, 94-94 (Reg), 109-104 (OT).
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