By: Patrick Sutare
QUEZON CITY- In just his second year in the league, Chris Newsome has already gained the trust to be the main guy for Meralco.
Given the green light to man the point, Newsome continues to make the right decisions on both ends of the court, manifesting it once again on Saturday as he steered the Bolts to a 106-93 victory over NLEX, leading them to their first win of the PBA Philippine Cup.
The 2016 PBA Rookie of the Year scored 28 points along with 10 rebounds, with most of the damage done in winning time when the Bolts pulled away to repulse the then streak seeking Road Warriors.
NLEX got the groove to start the fourth, turning a two-point deficit to a three-point advantage behind baskets from Sean Anthony and Garvo Lanete, 82-79, in no two-minute span. But the Bolts dropped the hammer late, unleashing a 21-5 blitz with 47.7 left capped by a huge triple from rookie Ed Daquioag.
The former UST Growling Tiger wound up with 23 points, 10 of which came in the payoff period.
Anthony paced the Road Warriors with 15 as the loss leveled their record at 1-1.
The scores:
MERALCO 106 – Newsome 28, Daquioag 23, Hodge 12, Caram 11, Nabong 11, Yeo 7, Grey 6, Chua 4, Al-Hussaini 2, Faundo 2, Amer 0, Bono 0, Hugnatan 0, Uyloan 0
NLEX 93 – Anthony 15, Camson 14, Lanete 14, Soyud 14, Alas 10, Lastimosa 10, J. Villanueva 7, Baracael 5, Guinto 4, Khobuntin 0, Monfort 0, Taulava 0
Quarters: 21-25, 56-54, 79-77, 106-93
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