Meralco upsets Magnolia, sets up Govs Cup finals showdown with Barangay Ginebra

Familiar foes will duke it out for the 2021 PBA Governors' Cup title.

Meralco pulled off an upset over top seed Magnolia, 94-81, in Game 5 of their best-of-five semifinal series on Friday at the Araneta Coliseum to punch its ticket to the finals against Barangay Ginebra.

Allein Maliksi waxed hot from deep, finishing with 24 points, including six triples, to go along with three rebounds and a steal while Raymond Almazan tallied 18 markers and five boards.

Chris Newssome chipped in 17 points and 12 rebounds while Aaron Black chimed in with 16 points and five rebounds.

The Bolts banked on a fiery third quarter which started with a 16-5 run led by Almazan and Black as they converted a 41-46 half time deficit to a 57-51 spread.

The Hotshots, however, responded with a 14-5 run of their own to end the third period up by three.

Meralco then took advantage of the absence of Magnolia import Mike Harris, who exited the game early after enduring the second hit to his head. He first hurt his head late in the second quarter while an inadvertent hit by Tony Bishop forced him to proceed to the locker room at the 8:55 mark of the payoff period and never returned since then.

The Bolts had a 16-2 rampage to open the final frame, 78-62, as the lead stayed for good with them.

This would be the fourth time that Meralco and Ginebra will meet in the Governors' Cup finals in a span of six years, with crowd favorite Gin Kings winning the titles in 2016, 2017, and 2019.

Magnolia, incidentally, won the 2018 edition against the Alaska Aces.

The Scores:

Meralco 94 - Maliksi 24, Almazan 18, Newsome 17, Black 16,  Bishop 8, Caram 4, Quinto 4, Hodge 3, Hugnatan 0, Baclao 0.

Magnolia 81 - Abueva 21, Lee 13, Barroca 11, Jalalon 11, Sangalang 10, Dela Rosa 6, Harris 5, Wong 2, Reavis 1, Corpuz 1,  Dionisio 0.

Quarters: 23-29, 41-46, 62-65, 94-81.

—MGP, GMA News