Meralco ends Ginebra’s playoff curse, arranges semis duel with SMB

REYNALD MAGALLON

Meralco put an end to a series of playoff nightmares at the hands of Barangay Ginebra, this time escaping with a nail-biting 106-104 victory in Game 3 of their best-of-three quarterfinals duel in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Bolts squandered a huge 20-point lead in the third frame but recovered just in time as Raymond Almazan drilled a clutch triple with exactly a minute left to put Meralco ahead for good and complete a redemption of some sort against the same team that dealt them so much heartbreaks in their past playoffs pairings.

With the Gin Kings getting their first taste of the lead since the first quarter after a booming LA Tenorio triple that gave them a 104-03 advantage with 1:12, Chris Newsome found a wide open Almazan who nailed the go-ahead three-pointer to give Meralco the lead and the much-needed breather.

The win was Meralco’s first in playoff series against Ginebra after six tries while also arranging a semifinals showdown against another powerhouse team in San Miguel Beer.

Newsome led the attack with a triple-double effort of 21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds while Aaron Black backstopped him with 17 points. Cliff Hodge had another solid job underneath the basket for Meralco, scoring 13 points that went with 18 boards, 11 of which came from offensive rebounds.

Hodge also made a huge stop down the stretch for Meralco, drawing an offensive foul on Scottie Thompsono during his layup attempt that could have tied the game at 106-all with 10 seconds left in the game. That also turned out to be Thompson’s sixth and final foul of the evening as Meralco held on its defense in the waning minutes to protect the precarious two-point cushion.

Thompson paced Ginebra with 26 points while Japeth Aguilar added 21 and Christian Standhardinger chipped in 23.

Meantime,Jio Jalalon took charge in overtime as Magnolia outlasted NLEX, 112- 106, in a thrilling conclusion to their epic best-of-three quarterfinals series. in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday, July 31.

Jalalon unloaded seven of his 16 points in the extra period as the Hotshots proved to be the steadier team in the endgame to advance to the semifinals and forge a rematch of last season’s Philippine Cup finals with the TNT Tropang Giga.

Jalalon, who also pulled off a huge defensive stop late in the regulation which led to Paul Lee’s overtime-sending trey, scored the first four points in the extra period before drilling a buzzer-beating triple that gave Magnolia a 106-100 lead with 1:43 left in the game.

“I would like to say sorry to Jio, ako, it’s my fault talagang nakalimutan ko siya ng fourth quarter. Nabulong lang sa akin ng Panginoon and I just told Jio to stay positive,” said Magnolia head coach Chito Victolero who called up Jalalon’s number only in the final minute of the regulation.

“(I told him) I will go to him on every possession, kita niyo naman from start ng pagpasok niya hanggang overtime I would like to go to Jio kasi he’s fresh and I know he wants to win. He looked at me, to my eyes and sabi sa akin ‘ I told you, coach’ dun palang alam ko na gusto niyang dalhin yung game namin,” he added.

The scores:

First Game

MAGNOLIA 112 – Sangalang 24, Lee 21, Jalalon 16, Barroca 14, Abueva 13, Dela Rosa 12, Corpuz 6, Dionisio 4, Wong 2.

NLEX 106– Oftana 32, Trollano 22, Alas 17, Chua 10, Semerad 8, Quinahan 8, Rosales 5, Varilla 2, Nieto 2, Soyud 0.

Quarters: 26-30, 51-54, 79-78, 97-97, 112-108.

Second Game
MERALCO 106 – Newsome 21, Black 17, Hodge 13, Maliksi 12, Quinto 11, Almazan 11, Pasaol 11, Banchero 4, Jose 4, Pascual 2.

GINEBRA 104 – Thompson 26, Standhardinger 23, J.Aguilar 21, Pringle 12, Tenorio 12, Pinto 6, Chan 4, Caperal 0, Onwubere 0, Mariano 0.

Quarters: 24-18, 55-42, 85-76, 106-104.

Meralco ends Ginebra’s playoff curse, arranges semis duel with SMB

REYNALD MAGALLON

Meralco put an end to a series of playoff nightmares at the hands of Barangay Ginebra, this time escaping with a nail-biting 106-104 victory in Game 3 of their best-of-three quarterfinals duel in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Bolts squandered a huge 20-point lead in the third frame but recovered just in time as Raymond Almazan drilled a clutch triple with exactly a minute left to put Meralco ahead for good and complete a redemption of some sort against the same team that dealt them so much heartbreaks in their past playoffs pairings.

With the Gin Kings getting their first taste of the lead since the first quarter after a booming LA Tenorio triple that gave them a 104-03 advantage with 1:12, Chris Newsome found a wide open Almazan who nailed the go-ahead three-pointer to give Meralco the lead and the much-needed breather.

The win was Meralco’s first playoff series against Ginebra after six tries while also arranging a semifinals showdown against another powerhouse team in San Miguel Beer.

Newsome led the attack with a triple-double effort of 21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds while Aaron Black backstopped him with 17 points. Cliff Hodge had another solid job underneath the basket for Meralco, scoring 13 points that went with 18 boards, 11 of which came from offensive rebounds.

Hodge also made a huge stop down the stretch for Meralco, drawing an offensive foul on Scottie Thompsono during his layup attempt that could have tied the game at 106-all with 10 seconds left in the game. That also turned out to be Thompson’s sixth and final foul of the evening as Meralco held on its defense in the waning minutes to protect the precarious two-point cushion.

Thompson paced Ginebra with 26 points while Japeth Aguilar added 21 and Christian Standhardinger chipped in 23.

Meantime,Jio Jalalon took charge in overtime as Magnolia outlasted NLEX, 112- 106, in a thrilling conclusion to their epic best-of-three quarterfinals series. in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday, July 31.

Jalalon unloaded seven of his 16 points in the extra period as the Hotshots proved to be the steadier team in the endgame to advance to the semifinals and forge a rematch of last season’s Philippine Cup finals with the TNT Tropang Giga.

Jalalon, who also pulled off a huge defensive stop late in the regulation which led to Paul Lee’s overtime-sending trey, scored the first four points in the extra period before drilling a buzzer-beating triple that gave Magnolia a 106-100 lead with 1:43 left in the game.

“I would like to say sorry to Jio, ako, it’s my fault talagang nakalimutan ko siya ng fourth quarter. Nabulong lang sa akin ng Panginoon and I just told Jio to stay positive,” said Magnolia head coach Chito Victolero who called up Jalalon’s number only in the final minute of the regulation.

“(I told him) I will go to him on every possession, kita niyo naman from start ng pagpasok niya hanggang overtime I would like to go to Jio kasi he’s fresh and I know he wants to win. He looked at me, to my eyes and sabi sa akin ‘ I told you, coach’ dun palang alam ko na gusto niyang dalhin yung game namin,” he added.

The scores:

First Game

MAGNOLIA 112 – Sangalang 24, Lee 21, Jalalon 16, Barroca 14, Abueva 13, Dela Rosa 12, Corpuz 6, Dionisio 4, Wong 2.

NLEX 106– Oftana 32, Trollano 22, Alas 17, Chua 10, Semerad 8, Quinahan 8, Rosales 5, Varilla 2, Nieto 2, Soyud 0.

Quarters: 26-30, 51-54, 79-78, 97-97, 112-108.

Second Game
MERALCO 106 – Newsome 21, Black 17, Hodge 13, Maliksi 12, Quinto 11, Almazan 11, Pasaol 11, Banchero 4, Jose 4, Pascual 2.

GINEBRA 104 – Thompson 26, Standhardinger 23, J.Aguilar 21, Pringle 12, Tenorio 12, Pinto 6, Chan 4, Caperal 0, Onwubere 0, Mariano 0.

Quarters: 24-18, 55-42, 85-76, 106-104.