Meralco upsets San Miguel to draw first blood in PBA Philippine Cup Finals

The Meralco Bolts pulled off an upset against the San Miguel Beermen, 93-86, to take Game 1 of the PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven finals series on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

After trailing, 72-70, by the end of the third quarter, the Bolts reclaimed the lead at the 9:04 mark of the fourth quarter as they made a 7-0 run to get a 79-75 advantage. 

With around 3:24 left in the final frame, the Bolts pushed its lead to eight, 89-81, while baskets from Raymond Almazan and Chris Banchero further gave Meralco breathing room before eventually claiming the win.

Chris Newsome and Chris Banchero had 18 points apiece for the Bolts, with the former having six rebounds and five assists, while Bong Quinto and Allein Maliksi chipped in 15 points each. Cliff Hodge had 15 rebounds and seven points.

The win spoiled June Mar Fajardo's 23-point, 10-rebound outing and CJ Perez' 20-point output.

Game 2 of the finals will be played on Friday at the same venue.

Scores:

Meralco 93 – Newsome 18, Banchero 18, Quinto 15, Maliksi 15, Caram 9, Almazan 8, Hodge 7, Bates 2, Pascual 1, Torres 0, Pasaol 0, Jose 0, Dario 0.

San Miguel 86 – Fajardo 23, Perez 20, Lassiter 16, Trollano 9, Tautuaa 5, Cruz 5, Teng 4, Brondial 4, Ross 0, Enciso 0.

Quarters: 19-20, 44-51, 70-72, 93-86.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News