HIGHLIGHTS: PBA Finals Game 5 San Miguel vs Meralco

2024 PBA Philippine Cup Finals schedule (Game 5)

Smart Araneta Coliseum

7:30pm – San Miguel Beermen vs Meralco Bolts

FULL SCHEDULE HERE.

PBA Finals: Meralco needs to ‘play with poise’ to close out San Miguel

Meralco Bolts in Game 5 of the PBA philippine Cup Finals against San Miguel Beermen. -MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Playing with poise will be of utmost importance for Meralco as it tries to close out San Miguel in Game 6 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals on Sunday.

According to Chris Banchero, the Bolts will have to play their own brand of basketball if they want to avoid a do-or-die Game 7 against the mighty Beermen.

And Meralco is locked in. FULL STORY

PBA Finals: June Mar Fajardo confident San Miguel will bounce back

June Mar Fajardo and the San Miguel Beermen in Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals against Meralco Bolts. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Down but not out.

That’s exactly how June Mar Fajardo sees San Miguel Beermen and their chances in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals after going down 3-2 in the best-of-seven series against Meralco.

The Beermen are now just a win away from letting the All-Filipino crown slip, but Fajardo believes his team has what it takes to drag the duel into a deciding Game 7. FULL STORY

PHOTOS: Meralco Bolts vs San Miguel Beermen PBA Finals Game 5

PBA Finals: Allein Maliksi finds his mark at a perfect time for Meralco

Meralco Bolts’ Allein Maliksi in during Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—In a game where the Meralco Bolts needed not to be gun-shy, veteran shooter Allein Maliksi proved the perfect man for the job.

Riding Maliksi’s hot hands, the Bolts broke a deadlock in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals and moved just a win away from getting the franchise’s first league title.

Maliksi became the bearer of bad news for San Miguel as he finished with 22 points and five rebounds in only 26 minutes of action. FULL STORY

Meralco on brink of first PBA title after Game 5 win over San Miguel

Meralco Bolts’ Cliff Hodge, Allein Maliksi and Raymond Almazan during Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals against San Miguel Beermen. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines–Meralco played with renewed zest in the payoff frame and then kept it together in the final moments on Friday night to slip past San Miguel, 92-88, and move to the doorstep of a maiden PBA Philippine Cup championship.

Allein Maliksi led the scoring charge at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, as Chris Newsome applied the finishing touches in the Game 5 triumph that put the Bolts ahead 3-2 in the best-of-seven championship duel. FULL STORY

VIDEO: Meralco Bolts’ Allein Maliksi and coach Luigi Trillo on taking 3-2 lead

WHAT’S THERE TO BE HAPPY ABOUT?  Meralco’s Allein Maliksi and coach Luigi Trillo after taking the 3-2 lead. Maliksi said there was nothing to be happy about just yet even if they moved one win away from history.

LIVE UPDATES: PBA Finals Game 5

Meralco Bolts and San Miguel Beermen shoot for an all-important 3-2 lead in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.

PBA Finals: Meralco, San Miguel brace for war with pivotal Game 5 up

San Miguel Beermen vs Meralco Bolts in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—There has been a popular notion in basketball that when a best-of-seven duel is tied at 2-2, whoever wins Game 5 wins the series.

While that may have proven true for several series in the past, players from Meralco and San Miguel don’t see the same thing going down in the ongoing PBA Philippine Cup Finals.

Just ask Chris Newsome and Chris Ross, who will be leading their respective teams in the now-virtual best-of-three series for the All-Filipino trophy. FULL STORY

PBA Finals: With tiebreaker looming, Meralco tries to dig out more points

Meralco Bolts’ Chris Newsome during Game 4 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals against San Miguel Beermen. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

Producing the best scoring game of his PBA career with 40 points provided little silver lining for Meralco’s Chris Newsome after San Miguel Beer evened things up at 2-2 in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.

“It’s great that I scored 40, but the win is definitely more important,” Newsome said after the Game 4 defeat on Wednesday night.

Newsome and the Bolts have another crack at getting a third win, and closer to their first-ever PBA title, in Friday’s pivotal fifth game of the series at Smart Araneta Coliseum. FULL STORY

PBA: Terrence Romeo determined to help San Miguel despite injury

San Miguel Beermen guard Terrence Romeo suits up in PBA Finals Game 4. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—San Miguel Beer coach Jorge Gallent commended Terrence Romeo for playing through the pain in Game 4 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.

In the Beermen’s 111-101 conquest of Meralco, Romeo played significant minutes despite nursing an aching calf.

Gallent said that Romeo insisted on playing for the Beermen in hopes of avoiding a 3-1 rut. FULL STORY

PBA: Chris Newsome’s career-best down the drain with Game 4 loss

Meralco Bolts’ Chris Newsome during Game 4 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals against San Miguel Beermen. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—It may have been a career night for Chris Newsome, but that was the last thing on his mind after Meralco Bolts’ ‘ Game 4 loss to San Miguel in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.

Newsome scored a career best 40 points  only for the Bolts to lose to the Beermen and have the series pushed back to square one at 2-2.

“They made their adjustments. That’s what a playoff series is all about. They definitely came with a lot more energy today and you certainly saw it,” said Newsome. FULL STORY

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