MERALCO realized an immediate goal last night— make the playoffs while coach Norman Black is still in the United States.
Bolstered by a fiery fourth quarter push, the Bolts tripped the also-ran Terrafirma Dyip 105-89 to close out their eliminations campaign on a rousing note in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Chris Newsome shone with 19 points, six rebounds, and five assists for Meralco, while Aaron Black chipped in 16 markers, five boards, and five dimes.
Raymond Almazan also did his part with 14 and nine, while Allein Maliksi and Bong Quinto also had 14 and 13 points, respectively for the Bolts.
Meralco’s seventh win, which came on the heels of an 89-86 decision over San Miguel Beer five days ago, in 11 outings enabled it to gain either the fourth or fifth seed in the best-fo-3 quarterfinals against Magnolia or Ginebra depending on the outcome of the last eliminations matches today.
Reeling from an 82-97 loss to Rain or Shine last Saturday, Terrafirma became the first team to wind up winless in a conference after Blackwater also went 0-11 in last year’s import-less tourney in Bacolor.
Bolts acting coach Luigi Trillo said the Dyip gave his charges fits despite playing with nothing but pride and bragging rights at stake.
“You know this was their (Dyip) last game and they came to play. They didn’t panic, moving the ball, sharing the load, and it was a tough game, and we have to earn it. I had to bring back some starters to play,” Trillo said.
“The important thing is we got the job done obviously since coach Norman’s been gone.
We’re 4-1 in our last five games and what matters now is that at least we solidified ourselves in a best-of-3,” he added.
Meralco took a 52-41 lead at the half and was still in command 73-65 heading into the payoff period.
Terrafirma last threatened at 78-90 on an Aldrech Ramos three-pointer with 5:08 left in the fourth but the Bolts pulled away and stretched the difference to as much as 100-81 on Alvin Pasaol’s two free throws, 2:02 to go.
