Humble Meralco readies for big Magnolia rebound

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Meralco seized control of its PBA Governors’ Cup semifinal series with top-seeded Magnolia on Sunday night, which put the Bolts on the cusp of a return trip to the championship series.

Chris Newsome already knows just how big of a match Game 4 on Wednesday will be. So the foremost thing in his mind is just keeping the team on an even keel.

And he has faith that his teammates are all on the same page.

“It all goes back to that Kobe Bryant interview: ‘Job’s not finished,’” he said on the heels of a 101-95 Game 3 win at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City where he scored 16 points.

“I think everyone understands that that’s what a series means: Even after a win, you can’t be too overconfident, you can’t celebrate, because it’s not about one game you’re winning. You need three to move on,” he added.

The Bolts played with steely nerves that night and kept it together in the most crucial of times to pull out a gutsy win and put the mighty Hotshots in a perilous spot in this short series.

Much of the Bolts’ success that night stemmed from remembering just how pleasant it is to be in control.

“We knew what that felt like, so our talk in the locker room was ‘Let’s try to be up for once. Let’s try to have an advantage,’” he said, noting Meralco’s playoff advantage over powerhouse San Miguel Beer during the quarterfinals.

“We just wanted to make sure we stayed true to Meralco’s team basketball. And I think you saw the ball movement. The scoring was a bit spread out. That’s what we want to do and just continue to play together and take advantage of the opportunity,” he added.

Newsome knows that Magnolia is going into Wednesday’s rematch a vengeful lot.

But he vows that Meralco will be ready once the opening horn sounds.

“We know they’re gonna be hungry, that they’ve got their own stuff going on as well. But at the end of the day, we just gotta go out there and play,” he said.

“And I think right now, we gotta stay humble, we gotta stay hungry and most importantly focused and disciplined with our game plan and what else coach Norman [Black] wants us doing out there,” he said. INQ