Chris Newsome’s sparkling showing during Meralco’s 82-73 win over Barangay Ginebra last Friday was enough to earn the Filipino-American the second straight Philippine Basketball Association Press Corps-Pilipinas Live Player of the Week honors.

Apart from his point production, Newsome also had six rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal as the Bolts raced to a superb finish in the elimination round of the Philippine Cup and earn the weekly individual citation for the period 28 May to 1 June.

Jayson Castro of TNT was the last player to secure back-to-back honors in 2002 during the Philippine Cup semifinals.

With Newsome’s play, the Bolts capped the eliminations with three straight wins and a 6-5 win-loss record before plunging into action in the Basketball Champions League Asia where they will be up against the continent’s best club teams.

Meralco also carries momentum into the Philippine Cup quarterfinals following a slow start for the reigning champions when they went 3-5 to start their title defense.