MANILA, Philippines – Meralco gave coach Norman Black a fitting present in his return at the helm after pulling off a 99-88 win over San Miguel in their PBA Philippine Cup semifinals at the Araneta Coliseum on Friday, August 5.

Five players scored in double figures for the Bolts as they welcomed back Black – who spent a month in the United States to attend to his now-deceased mother – by knotting the best-of-seven series at 1-1.

Cliff Hodge continued his stellar play after winning the Player of the Week award by putting up 17 points and 14 rebounds for Meralco, which put the shackles on the Beermen after a lopsided 24-point loss in the series-opener.

San Miguel scored 121 points on a scintillating 57% shooting in Game 1, but got contained to just 38% as it suffered only its third loss of the conference.

Aaron Black delivered anew upon the return of his father with 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists, including an and-one play left that essentially sealed the win for the Bolts.

The Beermen cut its deficit to 9 points after a pair of June Mar Fajardo free throws before the younger Black completed a three-point opportunity that gave his side a 97-85 lead with 2:10 minutes left.

Allein Maliksi also finished with 15 points, Chris Newsome netted all-around numbers of 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals, while Raymar Jose fired a conference-high 13 points for Meralco.

The Bolts also drew solid outings from Chris Banchero and Bong Quinto, who chimed in 9 points apiece in the win that saw Meralco lead by as big as 17 points.

Still leading the Best Player of the Conference race, Fajardo tallied 22 points, 17 rebounds, and 2 blocks but failed to get sufficient help from his teammates as he accounted for one-fourth of their scoring.

Marcio Lassiter and CJ Perez scored in double figures for San Miguel with 16 and 14 points, respectively, although they shot poorly from the field, going for a combined 11-of-34 clip (32%).

The Scores

Meralco 99 – Hodge 17, Black 15, Maliksi 15, Newsome 14, Jose 13, Banchero 9, Quinto 9, Almazan 7, Pasaol 0, Baclao 0, Pascual 0, Belo 0, Caram 0.

San Miguel 88 – Fajardo 22, Lassiter 16, Perez 14, Cruz 11, Manuel 7, Herndon 6, Tautuaa 5, Brondial 4, Ross 3, Enciso 0.

Quarters: 34-20, 51-48, 76-72, 99-88.

– Rappler.com