MANILA, Philippines – Allein Maliksi rained threes on San Miguel and powered Meralco to a 3-1 record in the PBA On Tour following a narrow 92-89 victory at the Tiaong Convention Center in Quezon on Saturday, June 10.

Catching fire off the bench, Maliksi shot 5-of-10 from deep and scored 21 points as the Bolts notched their second straight win and stayed at third place in the preseason tiff, just behind Magnolia (3-0) and Rain or Shine (3-0).

Maliksi knocked down timely triples in the final frame, opening the period with a trey that cut their deficit to 72-73 and draining another one for a 90-84 lead with under three minutes left to give Meralco enough breathing room.

Bong Quinto finished with 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists in the win, while Raymond Almazan put up a 14-point, 14-rebound double-double.

Anjo Caram supplied 11 points and 7 rebounds as he continues to step up for a Bolts side that is missing guards Chris Newsome and Chris Banchero.

Newsome is expected to miss the entire PBA On Tour due to his Gilas Pilipinas commitment after cracking the 21-man pool for the FIBA World Cup.

Jericho Cruz showed the way with 19 points and 4 assists for the Beermen, who absorbed their second loss in a row and dropped to 2-3.

Allyn Bulanadi and Marvin Lee added 18 points each in the defeat.

Like Meralco, San Miguel played with a couple of its key players in CJ Perez, June Mar Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter, and Terrence Romeo.

The Score

Meralco 92 – Maliksi 21, Quinto 19, Almazan 14, Caram 11, Pascual 8, Pasaol 5, Rios 4, Jose 3, Johnson 3, Hodge 2, Torres 2.

San Miguel 89 – Cruz 19, Lee 18, Bulanadi 18, Brondial 14, Tautuaa 12, Saldua 6, Lazarte 2, Baclao 0, Faundo 0.

Quarters: 25-24, 47-46, 69-73, 92-89.

– Rappler.com