Bolts prevail over Road Warriors, seal semis duel vs Hotshots

MANILA, Philippines – Second seed Meralco took the longer route but reached its intended destination just the same.

Foiled on their first try, the twice-to-beat Bolts made all the right moves this time to knock out gritty No. 7 NLEX, 97-86, and advance to the 46th PBA Philippine Cup semifinals last night in Bacolor, Pampanga.

Backcourt duo Chris Newsome and Anjo Caram and veteran big Cliff Hodge provided the major spark as the Bolts got the job done after dropping an 80-81 heartbreaker last Wednesday.

The Bolts lined themselves up for a live-wire showdown with No.3 Magnolia in the best-of-seven Final Four.

“It feels great to be back (in the semis). This is what we play for – to compete, get to as far as we can,” said Newsome who struck with 23 points plus nine rebounds and six assists.

“We’ve been to the semis last year and it didn’t go how we wanted it so here we are trying to redeem ourselves by winning the semis and getting to the finals this time,” added the Fil-Am, recalling their close 2-3 loss to eventual champion Barangay Ginebra in 2020.

While Newsome produced his best performance since getting out of the league’s health protocols, Hodge (16-9-2) and Caram (16 with six assists) also dished out solid outings in the clincher.

“It was a total team effort. The whole team believes in each other and I think that’s what got us the win today,” said Newsome.

The Bolts extricated from a tight contest with a telling 24-14 exchange in the second quarter, which put them ahead 46-35. They continued pounding after the break and even led by as many as 18 at 62-44. And when the Road Warriors mounted a serious bid to salvage their season, Newsome, Caram and Reynel Hugnatan stepped forward to ward off the threat.

“We did a good job defensively tonight,” said coach Norman Black, whose charges held NLEX to a 39.1 percent shooting (27-of-69) and stifled ace rookie Calvin Oftana to a scoreless second half after an initial 14-point explosion.

Don Trollano paced the Road Warriors with 19, firing 15 of them in the final canto.

The scores:

Meralco 97 - Newsome 23, Hodge 16, Caram 16, Hugnatan 11, Quinto 9, Maliksi 8, Belo 7, Pinto 5, Almazan 2, Pasaol 0.

NLEX 86 - Trollano 19, Oftana 14, Quinahan 13, Cruz 11, Alas 10, Semerad 8, Soyud 4, Paniamogan 3, Miranda 2, Ighalo 2,

Quarterscores: 22-21, 46-35, 68-60, 97-86.