Meralco's Chris Newsome in action against Magnolia in the 2023 PBA Governors' Cup quarterfinals. PBA Images.
MANILA (UPDATED) -- Meralco showed Magnolia the exit by hammering out a tough 113-107 win in overtime during their quarterfinal joust in the PBA Governors' Cup on Wednesday.
Chris Newsome buried five treys to finish with 33 points on top of 11 rebounds and seven assists while helping the Bolts claw back from a 13-point deficit. The victory propelled them to the semifinal round.
KJ McDaniels had 27 points even as Aaron Black scored 16.
Meralco, which came in with a twice-to-beat edge, also got a big boost from Bong Quinto who fended off a Magnolia comeback with a booming trey that kept the Bolts afloat, 106-103, with 1:30 remaining in the extra period.
Coach Norman Black said they could not have done it without good ball movement as proven by their 23 assists compared to Magnolia’s 12.
“It’s very important that everybody gets involved offensively. KJ (McDaniels) is not the type of guy who scores 35-40 points a night, but gives you 25-30 points so we need the locals to step up and contribute,” said Black.
“Luckily for us tonight there are a lot of guys that were heroes, led by Newsome. That's what it takes.”
It was a sorry loss for Magnolia which was up by six points following incursions by Antonio Hester in the payoff period.
But the Hotshots suffered a meltdown in the last minute, allowing Meralco to unleash a fight back capped by Black's buzzer beater that sent the game into overtime.
Paul Lee led Magnolia with 22 points, while Hester ended up with 21.
The Scores:
MERALCO 113 – Newsome 33, McDaniels 27, Banchero 16, Black 16, Maliksi 9, Almazan 7, Quinto 3, Hodge 2, Caram 0, Pasaol 0, Jose 0
MAGNOLIA 107 – Lee 22, Hester 21, Barroca 18, Abueva 15, Jalalon 9, Dela Rosa 8, Dionisio 6, Wong 4, Escoto 4, Corpuz 0
QUARTERS: 22-21, 47-49, 76-78, 96-96, 113-107
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