Meralco bolts to semis, eliminates RoS

Meralco completed an upset of twice-to-beat Rain or Shine after eking out a 98-89 victory in the do-or-die match of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Philippine Cup quarterfinals on Monday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Chris Newsome played clutch in the fourth quarter, where he scored 18 of his game-high 31 points, as the Bolts overcame a win-twice handicap to set up a best-of-seven semifinals showdown against TNT starting Sunday.   

Meralco shattered a 77-77 deadlock in the middle of the payoff period with a huge 13-5 run for a 90-82 cushion in the last 1:13 of the game.

Newsome iced the match from the foul line, hitting eight straight charities.

“Just proud of these guys the way they gutted it out. Obviously, it wasn’t easy,” Bolts head coach Luigi Trillo said.

Meralco saw the 11-point lead it erected in the third quarter disappear after the Elasto Painters, behind Adrian Nocum and Gian Mamuyac, made a sizzling run in the fourth canto.

Nocum tied it at 77 after nailing a four-pointer followed by a putback with 6:04 left.

But it was Rain or Shine’s last hurrah as its four straight conference semis stint got snapped in veteran forward Gabe Norwood’s farewell game after 17 seasons with the franchise.    

Chris Bancnhero finished with 21 points, CJ Cansino added 14 points and eight rebounds before fouling out while Bong Quinto had 11 for Meralco.

The Bolts forced the decider after taking Game 1 last Saturday 96-79.

Nocum paced the Elasto Painters with 29 markers while Mamuyac got 20 markers.

Norwood, the 2008 top overall pick of Rain or Shine and two-time PBA champion, closed his colorful career with three points, three steals, two boards and an assist.