Hot-shooting Meralco shocks SMB to spoil Fajardo, Romeo return

Meralco fired on all cylinders as it put up a masterful outing against rejigged San Miguel Beer, 93-87, to stay unbeaten early in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig on Sunday.

The Bolts, who are coming off an 85-63 victory over the NorthPort Batang Pier in the opener last Friday, rallied in the third quarter to get past the Beermen and record their second straight victory.

Chris Newsome led Meraco with 17 points, four rebounds, and six assists while Aaron Black added 14 markers.

Both teams were separated by only a point at the half, 42-41, in favor of the Bolts.

But the Norman Black-coached team started to pull away in the third canto, thanks to sweet-shooting performances by guard Nard Pinto, who drilled 12 points, nine coming from the rainbow country, to lead Bolts’ on a 19-7 run that gave them a 61-48 lead.

However, the Beermen proved they weren't five-time Philippine Cup champions for nothing.

They ignited in the fourth quarter as the comebacking Terrence Romeo nailed six unanswered points while Marcio Lassiter and Mo Tautuaa each had three-pointers as SMB cut the deficit to single digits, 71-77.

Lassiter again drained a triple but former Outstanding Rookie of the Year Black made back-to-back threes followed by a basket by Newsome, 87-77.

Newsome then sealed the deal after knocking down a cold-blooded three, 93-87.

The Meralco win spoiled the returns of June Mar Fajardo, who is coming back from a long absence after suffering a fractured tibia last year, and Romeo, who exited the bubble conference with a shoulder injury.

Romeo led the Beermen with 18 points but was assisted out of the court after hurting his ankle at the 8:32 mark of the payoff period and will be undergoing an MRI test right after the game.

The scores:
Meralco (93) – Newsome 17, Black 14, Hugnatan 13, Pinto 11, Quinto 9, Belo 7, Maliksi 7, Pasaol 7, Almazan 4, Hodge 4, Jackson 0.

San Miguel (87) – Romeo 18, Perez 17, Tautuaa 17, Lassiter 11, Santos 8, Fajardo 5, Ross 5, Cabagnot 4, Gotladera 2, Pessumal 0.

Quarterscores: 18-25, 42-41, 74-59, 93-87.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA News