Meralco gives early shock to ROS, forces do-or-die in PBA PH Cup QFs

Chris Newsome flies for the slam. PBA Images

By Ivan Saldajeno

PASAY--Meralco banked on an early stunner to cancel Rain Or Shine's twice-to-beat advantage in the PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals with a 96-79 rout on Saturday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

The seventh-seeded Bolts surprised the second-seeded Elasto Painters with a 35-point first-quarter blast before opening a 56-22 lead before halftime.

ROS sparked a comeback attempt with a 9-2 run to end the second period, spilling the last dash to the second half as the team cut the lead down to 12, the last at 87-75 with 2:57 to play in the fourth quarter.

However, Jansen Rios hit a booming triple before Chris Newsome added back-to-back two-pointers for Meralco to pull away for good.

Newsome, CJ Cansino, and Cliff Hodge each scored 14 points to lead the Bolts, who forced another game on Monday night back at the Big Dome.

Adrian Nocum had 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, two rebounds, one assist, and two steals for the Elasto Painters.

Luis Villegas struggled to make the most of his 17-minute return to action as he only had one rebound to show.