SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – In a rematch of the 2022 PBA Governors’ Cup finals, the Meralco Bolts exacted revenge on the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings with a 90-73 win in the Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, July 13.
Chris Newsome delivered the goods for Meralco, finishing with an all-around stat line of 19 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals, while Chris Banchero and Cliff Hodge scored 17 and 14 points, respectively.
With its second straight win, Meralco moved up to 5-3 in the standings, while Ginebra, which suffered back-to-back losses, dropped to 6-3.
“It was nice to see multiple guys chip in from our team,” said Meralco assistant coach Luigi Trillo as he continues to fill in for head coach Norman Black, who is currently in the United States to attend to his ailing mother.
“The last game against Rain or Shine, the first group played well, but the second group needed improvement.”
“We’re trying to get multiple guys to contribute and I thought that second group helped that first group,” added Trillo, who celebrated his 47th birthday with a victory.
Coming off a one-week break, Meralco wasted little time in flexing its dominance over Ginebra as it quickly put up a comfortable 18-point advantage at the half, 51-33.
The Bolts made their presence felt on the defensive end as they forced the Gin Kings to commit 12 of their 18 turnovers in the first half alone.
With Meralco enjoying its biggest lead at 22 points, 72-50, at the start of the final frame, Ginebra showed some signs of life as it managed to pull within 12, 78-66, off a triple by Nard Pinto, halfway through the quarter.
Unfortunately for Ginebra, Hodge quickly destroyed any hopes of a Gin Kings comeback as he responded with a three-point play to stretch Meralco’s lead back to 15, 81-66, with just 5:26 left to play.
Bong Quinto added 10 points for the Bolts off the bench, while Aaron Black and Allein Maliksi contributed 9 and 8 markers, respectively.
Meanwhile, reigning PBA MVP Scottie Thompson paced Ginebra in the losing effort with 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.
The Scores
Meralco 90 – Newsome 19, Banchero 17, Hodge 14, Quinto 10, Black 9, Maliksi 8, Almazan 6, Pascual 4, Johnson 3, Belo 0, Caram 0, Hugnatan 0, Pasaol 0, Jose 0, Baclao 0.
Ginebra 73 – Thompson 14, Pinto 12, Aguilar 11, Standhardinger 10, Tenorio 7, Pringle 6, Chan 5, Caperal 4, David 2, Mariano 2.
Quarters: 24-16, 51-33, 72-50, 90-73.
– Rappler.com
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