Photo by Rio Deluvio
Meralco claimed the last semifinal spot with an electrifying 106-104 win over Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in Game 3 of their Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup best-of-three quarterfinal series at the Mall of Asia Arena Sunday night.
The Bolts completed their revenge act to complete the Final Four cast and set up a best-of-seven duel with San Miguel Beer.
Chris Newsome tallied 21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds to give Meralco its first-ever playoff series victory against the Kings since 2016.
Aaron Black also added 17 points and four assists, while Cliff Hodge dominated the boards with 18 rebounds and 13 markers.
Allein Maliksi chipped in 12 points, while Bong Quinto, Alvin Pasaol and Raymond Almazan combined for 33 points.
Scottie Thompson, meanwhile, finished with game-high 26 points but Ginebra saw its All-Filipino title hopes come to an end.
The Scores:
MERALCO 106 – Newsome 21, Black 17, Hodge 13, Maliksi 12, Quinto 11, Almazan 11, Pasaol 11, Banchero 4, Jose 4, Pascual 2
GINEBRA 104 – Thompson 26, Standhardinger 23, J.Aguilar 21, Pringle 12, Tenorio 12, Pinto 6, Chan 4, Caperal 0, Onwubere 0, Mariano 0
QUARTERS: 24-18, 55-42, 85-76, 106-104
