PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—With control of the series at stake, Meralco hit one tough shot after another down the stretch while making all the necessary stops on the other end to repulse Barangay Ginebra, 83-74, Sunday night at Mall of Asia Arena.
The Bolts rode the hot hands of import Tony Bishop Jr., Chris Newsome, and Allein Maliksi in the payoff frame and then turned to the indefatigable Cliff Hodge on defense to take control of this best-of-seven series, 2-1.
The Panamanian standout wound up with 30 points and 16 rebounds while Newsome 20 and 11 spiked with six assists in a hard-fought contest that saw the Bolts battling back from 13 points down.
Maliksi, who was held scoreless in Game 2, scored seven of his 10 points also in the fourth period.
Justin Brownlee had 19 points, while Christian Standhardinger chipped in 17 more for Barangay Ginebra who continued to miss Japeth Aguilar.
The Gin Kings also drew 11 points from LA Tenorio and Scottie Thompson but were unable to tab the victory before a PBA pandemic record of 16,104.
The series now returns to the cavernous Smart Araneta Coliseum, where Meralco shoots for commanding control of the series.