Meralco holds off Magnolia to even series at 1-1

Meralco avoided falling to a 0-2 hole with a tight 81-75 victory over top seed Magnolia in Game 2 of their best-of-five semifinal series in the PBA Governors' Cup on Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

After leading most of the game, Meralco nearly lost the momentum when Magnolia staged a fightback early in the fourth. The Hotshots rallied fiercely and a triple from Rome Dela Rosa tied the game at 66-apiece.

The Bolts were able to find the counterpunches against the Hotshots, with a jumper from Bong Quinto giving Meralco a 78-71 slim lead with 1:34 left in the game.

Meralco then maintained their poise in crunch time to recover from their Game 1 loss, where the team had a strong start before Magnolia walked away with a come-from-behind win.

Import Tony Bishop rallied Meralco with a double-double effort of 22 points and 14 rebounds to go along with two blocks and a steal, while Chris Newsome led the locals with 18 markers.

Meanwhile, Magnolia was paced by reinforcement Mike Harris, who carved out a game-high 25 points and 17 rebounds.

Both teams will look to secure a 2-1 lead when they play Game 3 on Sunday at 4 p.m.

Earlier, defending champion Barangay Ginebra secured a commanding 2-0 edge over the NLEX Road Warriors to move a win away from the finals.

The Scores:

Meralco 81 - Bishop 22, Newsome 18, Black 14, Banchero 10, Maliksi 6, Almazan 5, Hugnatan 3, Quinto 2, Jose 1, Hodge 0, Caram 0, Baclao 0.

Magnolia 75- Harris 25, Lee 10, Abueva 9, Sangalang 9, Dela Rosa 7, Jalalon 6, Wong 3, Barroca 3, Corpuz 3, Reavis 0, Dionisio 0.

Quarters: 20-15, 42-37, 66-61, 81-75.

—MGP, GMA News