Bong Quinto drained the go-ahead basket with 2.7 seconds left to rescue defending champion Meralco from the jaws of another defeat in a hard-fought, 105-104, escape to halt a three-game skid in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup Friday night at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

The Bolts took advantage of Batang Pier guard Jio Jalalon’s two missed free throws for one last hurrah as Quinto seized the moment with a strong drive to the basket after receiving the inbound pass from Aaron Black.

Meralco head coach Luigi Trillo breathed a sigh of relief after leveling their win-loss record to 3-3 and surviving NorthPort winger Joshua Munzon’s career-high 36-point explosion.

“Just an excellent fight from our guys. We’re struggling, we know that. The last two games had been tough. We’ve been beaten black and blue. We were dominated. But sometimes, when things are not going your way, you have to gut it out,” he said.

“Sometimes you’ll never know until the end and that’s what happened today.”

Chris Newsome led the Bolts with 24 points and Chris Banchero added 23 markers. Cliff Hodge had a double-double of 18 points and 14 rebounds to go with five assists and a block before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.

Quinto scored 17 points and pulled down nine boards while Black had 14 markers as Meralco displayed balanced offense.

Meralco was down, 99-104, with 23 seconds left before Banchero trimmed it to three with a quick layup. Two missed foul shots by Sydney Onwubere on the other end gave the Bolts an opening with Newsome cutting it down to just one with two free throws.

Jalalon was sent to the line but bricked both his shots, giving Meralco one last chance to draw up the winning play.

The Batang Pier tried to salvage the game but Will Navarro was off in his jumper at the buzzer.

NorthPort, who missed the services of Arvin Tolentino (hip flexor) for the third straight game, suffered its fourth defeat in a row after five starts.

Navarro had 14 points and 12 rebounds, Jalalon got 11 while Cade Flores and James Kwekuteye finished with 10 markers each for the Batang Pier.

The scores:

MERALCO (105) --- Newsome 24, Banchero 23, Hodge 18, Quinto 17, Black 14, Cansino 3, Bates 2, Jose 2, Almazan 0, Pasaol 0, Caram 0, Torres 0

NORTHPORT (104) --- Munzon 36, Navarro 14, Jalalon 11, Kwekuteye 10, Flores 10, Nelle 7, Onwubere 7, Cuntapay 6, Bulanadi 3, Nava 0, Taha 0

Quarters: 21-30, 42-54, 74-81, 105-104