Newsome shines late as Meralco escapes San Miguel in Game 3 thriller

MANILA, Philippines – Meralco regained the upper hand in the PBA Philippine Cup finals after pulling off a 93-89 escape act against San Miguel in Game 3 at the Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, June 9.

Chris Newsome saved the day with key buckets down the stretch and finished with 26 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks as the Bolts nailed a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

The Beermen led 89-88 with under a minute left before Newsome went on a personal 5-0 run off a triple and a pair of free throws to help Meralco move within two victories of their first-ever PBA championship.

Flaunting its vaunted defense, Meralco then put the clamps on San Miguel in the final 10 seconds as the Beermen missed all of their last three field goals, failing to breach the 90-point plateau for the second time in the finals.

Raymond Almazan stepped up for the Bolts with 17 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks, while Bong Quinto added 16 points and 6 rebounds.

Mo Tautuaa paced the Beermen with 19 points and CJ Perez put up 18 points, albeit on a poor 6-of-19 clip from the field.

Fourth quarter

FINAL: Meralco with a string of defensive stops as it holds on to a 93-89 win
MERALCO 93-89: Chris Newsome perfect at the stripe
MERALCO 91-89: Chris Newsome corner three is good with 34 seconds left
SAN MIGUEL 89-88: June Mar Fajardo 2/2 at the line
MERALCO 88-87: CJ Perez scoop layup
MERALCO 88-85: June Mar Fajardo with the free throw split
MERALCO 88-84: Bong Quinto for three after a Chris Newsome stop
MERALCO 85-84: CJ Perez 1/2 at the stripe
MERALCO 85-83: Chris Newsome sinks the tough jumper
83-83: Raymond Almazan short stab
SAN MIGUEL 83-81: CJ Perez triple
MERALCO 81-80: Chris Newsome 2/2 at the line
SAN MIGUEL 80-79: Marcio Lassiter with his second trey of the period
MERALCO 79-77: Cliff Hodge again
77-77: June Mar Fajardo scores
MERALCO 77-75: Cliff Hodge putback
75-75: CJ Perez lays it in plus the foul
MERALCO 75-73: Marcio Lassiter left wide open for the long bomb
MERALCO 75-70: Raymond Almazan again
MERALCO 73-70: Raymond Almazan inside

Third quarter

END OF 3Q: Not one team giving an inch as Meralco enters the final frame up 71-70
MERALCO 71-70: Chris Banchero answers
SAN MIGUEL 70-69: Jeron Teng short stab
MERALCO 69-58: Allein Maliksi splits
68-68: Allein Maliksi 2/2 with his foul shots
SAN MIGUEL 68-66: Don Trollano with another split
SAN MIGUEL 67-66: Don Trollano 1/2 with his free throws
66-66: Chris Newsome flushes home the fast break dunk off a steal
SAN MIGUEL 66-64: Chris Newsome hits his charity shots
SAN MIGUEL 66-62: Chris Newsome retaliates with his own trey
SAN MIGUEL 66-59: Marcio Lassiter for three
SAN MIGUEL 63-59: CJ Perez 1/2 at the line, but he gets his own miss
SAN MIGUEL 62-59: CJ Perez knocks down his foul shots
SAN MIGUEL 60-59: Mo Tautuaa continues to do damage
MERALCO 59-58: Chris Newsome drives
SAN MIGUEL 58-57: June Mar Fajardo splits his free throws
57-57: Norbert Torres reverse layup
SAN MIGUEL 57-55: Raymond Almazan from deep
SAN MIGUEL 57-52: CJ Perez wide open on the fast break
SAN MIGUEL 55-52: Mo Tautuaa inside
SAN MIGUEL 53-52: Chris Banchero also perfect at the line
SAN MIGUEL 53-50: Chris Newsome 2/2 at the stripe
SAN MIGUEL 53-48: Mo Tautuaa for three
SAN MIGUEL 50-48: CJ Perez jumper is good
48-48: Mo Tautuaa opens the second-half scoring

Second quarter

HALFTIME: Chris Newsome blocks CJ Perez to preserve a 48-46 lead for Meralco
MERALCO 48-46: Marcio Lassiter makes the technical free throw
MERALCO 48-45: Chris Newsome joins the three-point party
45-45: Chris Banchero answers with his own long bomb
SAN MIGUEL 45-42: Jeron Teng with another trey
42-42: Cliff Hodge with the offensive rebound and the reverse layup
SAN MIGUEL 42-40: Allein Maliksi sinks the baseline jumper
SAN MIGUEL 42-38: Don Trollano for three
SAN MIGUEL 39-38: Cliff Hodge attacks foul-plagued June Mar Fajardo
SAN MIGUEL 39-36: Jeron Teng back-to-back baskets
SAN MIGUEL 37-36: Chris Newsome with his first bucket plus the foul
SAN MIGUEL 37-34: Jeron Teng from downtown
34-34: Bong Quinto slices through the San Miguel defense
SAN MIGUEL 34-32: June Mar Fajardo drains his two foul shots
32-32: Bong Quinto 1/2 at the line
SAN MIGUEL 32-31: A Mo Tautuaa free throw give the Beermen their first lead
31-31: Jericho Cruz wide open for the corner trey
MERALCO 31-28: Mo Tautuaa again
MERALCO 31-26: Bong Quinto buries his second triple
MERALCO 28-26: Mo Tautuaa with another strong attack

First quarter

END OF 1Q: Meralco grabs a 28-24 lead behind 8 points from Raymond Almazan
MERALCO 28-24: Mo Tautuaa soars for the layup
MERALCO 28-22: Jericho Cruz makes his free throws
MERALCO 28-20: Allein Maliksi passes up on the shot, Raymond Almazan
MERALCO 26-20: Don Trollano 2/2 at the line
MERALCO 26-18: Allein Maliksi buries the trey
MERALCO 23-18: Don Trollano gets past two Meralco defenders for the layup
MERALCO 23-16: Cliff Hodge from the baseline
MERALCO 21-16: Mo Tautuaa from deep
MERALCO 21-13: Raymond Almazan exposes the mismatch for another bucket
MERALCO 19-13: Bong Quinto for three
MERALCO 16-13: Jericho Cruz attacks
MERALCO 16-11: Brandon Bates sinks his charity shots
MERALCO 14-11: Don Trollano long two
MERALCO 14-9: Chris Newsome 1/2 at the stripe
MERALCO 13-9: Bong Quinto finishes the fast break off a neat pass from Chris Banchero
MERALCO 11-9: Chris Banchero splits his free throws
MERALCO 10-9: June Mar Fajardo shrugs off the double team for the one-hander
MERALCO 10-7: CJ Perez and-one
MERALCO 10-4: Kyle Pascual hits
MERALCO 8-4: Raymond Almazan makes two foul shots
MERALCO 6-4: Bong Quinto jumper is good
4-4: June Mar Fajardo ices his freebies
MERALCO 4-2: Chris Banchero easy deuce
2-2: Marcio Lassiter 2/2 at the line
MERALCO 2-0: Raymond Almazan cleans up his own miss

Starters

SAN MIGUEL: CJ Perez, June Mar Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter, Rodney Brondial, Chris Ross
MERALCO: Bong Quinto, Cliff Hodge, Raymond Almazan, Cliff Newsome, Chris Banchero

Preview

It’s shaping to be an unpredictable series.

After Meralco hacked out a Game 1 shocker, San Miguel Beer pulled one of its own, rising from a four-point deficit in the dying seconds of Game 2 to avoid a 0-2 hole.

With the series all even, San Miguel Beer and Meralco dispute the upper hand in Game 3 of the best-of-seven finals battle of the PBA Philippine Cup on Sunday, June 9, at the Araneta Coliseum.

While the Beermen headed into the title round heavily favored with a star-studded cast led by June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez, the Bolts – a first-time All-Filipino finalist – showed they can keep up with the defending champions behind Chris Newsome, Chris Banchero, Bong Quinto, and Allein Maliksi.

But in a tight series, the Beermen showed how their championship experience and poise could be be pivotal, fully displaying them in Game 2 where they incredibly turned the game around with clutch triples from Perez and Marcio Lassiter in the last 25 seconds.

But expect the Bolts, who have played the role of gutsy underdogs to the hilt, to come out fighting again with arguably their best all-Filipino crew yet.

Can Meralco show again that it’s equipped to play spoiler? Or can San Miguel fully reclaim its winning rhythm?

Game time is 6:15 pm. – Rappler.com