PBA: Meralco fights back, beats Ginebra in semis Game 2
Meralco’s Chris Newsome shoots a jumper against Ginebra in Game 2 of their PBA Philippine Cup semifinals series.–PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines–Meralco got back at Barangay Ginebra behind its main weapons with a 103-91 win that tied their best-of-seven semifinal series in the PBA Philippine Cup at 1-1 Sunday at Mall of Asia Arena.
Allein Maliksi scored 25 points while Chris Newsome, Cliff Hodge, Chris Banchero and Raymond Almazan came through in the fourth quarter as the Bolts won despite blowing a 17-point lead in the third.
Newsome made eight of his 20 in the final period while Almazan scored five in a row during a crucial stretch that saw the Bolts separate themselves from the Gin Kings after holding an 88-87 lead with six minutes to go.
Hodge had 13 points and 10 rebounds, some of those came during the fourth on the offensive glass that was pivotal for Meralco as well even as Banchero produced nine of his 11 points, also in the fourth.
Bong Quinto and rookies Brandon Bates and Jolo Mendoza also had their share of contributions, among others, in a win that was a collective effort for the Bolts.
READ: Stanley Pringle, Ginebra slip past Meralco for 1-0 semis lead
Maliksi missed all three triples but was knocking down mid-range jumpers all throughout for the Bolts, making 9 of 16 from inside the arc.
The Bolts overcame a career-high 41 points from Christian Standhardinger and a Ginebra comeback late in the third powered by Stanley Pringle to put the series at level terms going into Game 3.
Both teams meet again Wednesday in Dasmarinas, Cavite.
Standhardinger made 13 of his 17 attempts to break his previous single-game best of 39 back in the 2020 Philippine Cup bubble in Clark, Pampanga while still playing for NorthPort.
Pringle dropped eight of 13 in the third as Ginebra went ahead 74-73 entering the final quarter despite Meralco seizing a 60-43 lead early in the period.
Ralph Cu scored just six points after dropping 18 on six triples in Ginebra’s 92-88 victory in Game 1 last Friday.
The scores:
MERALCO 103 – Maliksi 25, Newsome 20, Hodge 13, Banchero 11, Almazan 7, Quinto 7, Mendoza 6, Bates 6, Pascual 5, Caram 3, Rios 0, Torres 0.
GINEBRA 91 – Standhardinger 41, Ahanmisi 14, Pringle 13, j.Aguilar 7, Thommpson 6, Cu 6, Onwubere 3, Tenorio 1, David 0, Pinto 0, Murrell 0.
Quarters: 32-27, 55-42, 73-74, 103-91.
