Chris Newsome came to the rescue at crunch time to power Meralco to a 97-88 overtime win over the Ryukyu Golden Kings late Wednesday in the East Asia Super League Home and Away Season at the Studio City in Macau.
The Bolts appeared headed for another defeat when they trailed, 80-76, with 15 seconds left in regulation.
But Newsome converted on an improbable three-pointer off a timeout and was fouled by Shota Onodera in the process. The Meralco guard hit the bonus free throw to tie the game at 80 with 10 seconds left.
Then Vic Law failed to score a potential game-winning jump shot with a second left that paved the way for the extra period.
Newsome then took charge in overtime, scoring seven more points as he joined hands with Cliff Hodge, Zach Lofton, and Prince Ibeh to outscore the Golden Kings, 17-8, and post the their breakthrough victory for a 1-2 record in Group B.
The explosive Lofton wound up with 35 points, while Newsome had 27, and Ibeh with 15 and 12 rebounds for Meralco, which avenged its 89-61 loss to Ryukyu in their first meeting in Okinawa, Japan.
Law finished with 27 points and nine rebounds for the Golden Kings, who played without import Allen Durham and Filipino Karl Tamayo.
Ryukyu fell to an even 2-2 record.
