Chris Newsome was awesome in regulation and was fuming in overtime to lift Meralco to a hard-earned 109-104 victory over Magnolia in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup on Tuesday night at the Angeles University Foundation gym in Pampanga.
Newsome, now more recognizable from afar with his afro, nailed a jumper to give the Bolts a 107-104 breather with only nine seconds to go in overtime.
The Bolts hung tough on defense to preserve their second win in four games.
“We want to come out with more energy this time after we lost our last game against Ginebra. We just wanted to play with a lot of heart tonight,” Newsome said.
Newsome had 15 points in regulation and made a basket at least every 35 seconds in overtime to finish with a team-high 23 points topped with seven rebounds and six assists.
Aaron Black delivered 16 points and Cliff Hodge 12 points and nine rebounds for the Bolts, while Reynel Hugnatan, ageless at 41, added 12 points and Trevis Jackson nailed 10 points all in the last period.
Paul Lee, who poured in 32 points, made two free throws in the last 13 seconds of regulation to peg the count at 94-94. Newsome muffed a jumper for overtime.
Magnolia dropped to 1-3.
Scores:
Meralco 109 – Newsome 23, Black 16, Hodge 12, Hugnatan 11, Jackson 10, Quinto 8, Almazan 8, Maliksi 8, Jamito 8, Pinto 4, Amer 1, Caram 0.
Magnolia 104 – Lee 32, Barroca 17, Banchero 13, Corpuz 12, Melton 6, Reavis 4, Pascual 4, Dionisio 3, Calisaan 0.
Quarters: 19-25; 46-46; 67-73; 94-94; 109-104.