Meralco edges NorthPort for 3rd win in PBA Philippine Cup

Sports

NORTHPORT missed crucial free throws down the stretch and Meralco made them pay as the Bolts frustrated the Batang Pier, 105-104, in the 49th PBA Philippine Cup on Friday night, May 9, at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.

Meralco capitalized on NorthPort’s erratic free throws at the finish, enabling them to complete its comeback from 15 points down to snatch its third win against the same number of losses.

NorthPort led by as many as 15 points in the match. Though they allowed the Bolts to come closer, they still had a chance to preserve the win but ended up faltering from the charity stripe.

The Batang Pier missed five free throws inside the final minute and Bong Quinto delivered the game-winning basket with a strong drive with only two seconds left.

Wil Navarro couldn’t save NorthPort as he misfired at the buzzer, sealing Meralco’s first win in its last four matches.

Chris Newsome topped Meralco with 24 points, Chris Banchero added 23 points and Cliff Hodge had 18 markers and 14 rebounds.

Quinto wound up with 17 points, nine rebounds, and two assists.

NorthPort fell to 1-4 (win-loss) despite having five players scoring in double figures.

Joshua Munzon led NorthPort with a game-high 36 points while Navarro and Jio Jalalon added 14 and 11, respectively.

Jalalon accounted for two of NorthPort’s five crucial missed free throws in the dying seconds. The Batang Pier were ahead, 104-103, and Jalalon was sent to the free throw line with 8.4 ticks left.

Jalalon wilted under immense pressure, bungling the two freebies that paved the way for Quinto’s game-winning drive.

THE SCORES:

MERALCO (105) - Newsome 24, Banchero 23, Hodge 18, Quinto 17, Black 14, Cansino 3, Bates 2, Jose 2, Rios 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.QUARTERSCORES: 21-30, 42-54, 74-81, 105-104.(CCM)