Magnolia absorbs heart-breaking defeat to Meralco

Meralco waged a determined chase from 13 down in the last two minutes and pulled off a steal, stunning Magnolia, 95-94, in the PBA Philippine Cup at the DHVSU Wednesday night.

Chris Newsome scored on a make-or-break drive in the closing seconds, capping the Bolts’ stirring come-from-behind triumph to move up to second place behind the TNT Tropang Giga (4-0) with a 5-1 win-loss slate.

Relaxing too early, the Hotshots paid dearly, suffering a first loss and dropping down to third place at 4-1.

Mac Belo, Alvin Pasaol and Newsome joined forces to turn the game around in the last two minutes, disappointing the Magnolia side that took control more than three-fourths of the way.

The game had appeared to be in the bag for the Hotshots as they led by 13 at 93-80 on two free throws by Ian Sangalang.

But the Bolts refused to give up, applying the pressure on defense and going to Belo, Pasaol and Newsome on the offensive end to score the stunner.

It was a heartbreaker for the Hotshots, especially to Paul Lee and Calvin Abueva with their big numbers that went for naught.

Lee paced the Hotshots with 21 points while Abueva had his own double-double with 18 markers and 14 boards.

The scores:

Meralco 95 – Belo 22, Hodge 18, Hugnatan 15, Newsome 14, Maliksi 11, Black 6, Almazan 4, Pasaol 3, Quinto 2, Jackson 0, Pinto 0.

Magnolia 94 – Lee 21, Abueva 18, Jalalon 12, Sangalang 10, Corpuz 8, Barroca 8, Dela Rosa 8, Ahanmisi 5, Reavis 2, Dionisio 2, Melton 0.

Quarterscores: 17-22, 39-50, 66-71, 95-94.