Newsome winner rescues Meralco from Terrafirma upset

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MANILA, Philippines — Chris Newsome hit a buzzer-beating jumper to propel Meralco past Terrafirma, 95-93, in the PBA Philippine Cup Sunday at AUF Sports Arena & Cultural Center in Angeles, Pampanga.

Newsome sank a tough baseline fadeaway over CJ Perez to win it as the Bolts escaped the Dyip after blowing a 10-point lead in the final four minutes.

The Bolts turned to Newsome in the clutch but it was Raymond Almazan who did much of the work throughout the game.

The 6-foot-7 center finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks as Meralco moved into a fourth-place tie with Alaska at 6-4. Newsome finished with 12 points and five rebounds.

“We had a big lead but we relaxed,” Almazan said in Filipino. “Coming from injury, it was tough for me here inside the bubble because I really had no practice.”

“But I’m willing to help the team in any way I can whether it be in getting rebounds or defense.”

CJ Perez and Juami Tiongson drilled in back-to-back triples to tie the game at 93 with 56 ticks to go.

Perez and Tiongson had 21 points apiece. Perez also had eight rebounds and seven assists for the Dyip, who failed to make it two in a row and fell to 1-8.