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| Chris Newsome made sure Meralco would not have a late slip-up this time. PBA Images |
MANILA––Meralco held on despite an explosive game from Sedrick Barefield and tripped Blackwater, 105-96, in their PBA Philippine Cup game on Wednesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Three nights after squandering a third-quarter explosion and dropping a tough one against the Rain Or Shine Elasto Painters, the Bolts were on the verge of blowing up another hot quarter, but the Bossing came up short.
Meralco blasted off in the second quarter and outscored Blackwater, 32-15, to open a 61-39 halftime lead.
However, with Barefield leading the charge, the Bossing caught fire in the third quarter, outscoring the Bolts, 35-23, to cut the lead down to 10, 84-74.
Blackwater then opened the fourth on a 7-0 run to trim the gap down to three, 84-81, with 8:38 to play, but an 11-0 run midway through the final period essentially sealed the win for Meralco.
Chris Newsome led the Bolts, who finally won after back-to-back losses to open the conference, with 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting, one rebound, and two assists.
Cliff Hodge added 14 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and three blocks.
Two nights after receiving his All-Rookie Team citation from the PBA Press Corps, Barefield exploded for 34 points on 12-of-21 shooting, including 7-of-10 on threes, with two rebounds, two assists, and two steals for the Bossing, who fell to 1-1.
RK Ilagan added 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-4 from long range, two rebounds, three assists, and one steal.
The Scores:
MERALCO 105 – Newsome 21, Hodge 14, Bates 13, Maliksi 13, Almazan 12, Black 11, Quinto 7, Cansino 6, Jose 5, Caram 2, Pascual 0, Banchero 0
BLACKWATER 96 – Barefield 34, Ilagan 22, Tratter 11, David 7, Mendoza 4, Guinto 4, Jopia 4, Andrade 3, Murrell 2, Panopio 2, Escoto 0, Dumont 0
QUARTERS: 29-24, 61-39, 84-74, 105-96
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