Charged-up Bolts draw first blood vs Beermen

MANILA, Philippines -- The Meralco Bolts showed no signs of fatigue and pulled away in the fourth quarter to take Game 1 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals over the San Miguel Beermen, 93-86, Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Meralco, coming off a grueling Game 7 win over Barangay Ginebra last week, found bursts of energy late to keep the defending champions at bay.

Chris Banchero and Chris Newsome led the charge for the Bolts with 18 points apiece. The former had seven rebounds and five assists, while the latter had six boards, five dimes and two steals.

With Meralco trailing by three, 72-75, early on in the fourth quarter, the All-Filipino Cup championship round first-timers uncorked a 17-6 run to go up by eight, 89-81, with 3:24 remaining.

The run was halted by a layup by CJ Perez to help the Beermen inch closer, 83-89.

A big jumper by Raymond Almazan, followed by a putback by Banchero off a Newsome missed triple, put the finishing touches to the game.

Don Trollano hit a big 3-pointer on the other end, but the two teams failed to score the rest of the way to give the Bolts the Game 1 victory.

In the final quarter, Meralco recorded 10 offensive rebounds, with four coming in the final four minutes.

Bong Quinto and Allein Maliksi chipped in 15 markers apiece. Cliff Hodge also recorded seven points, 15 rebounds, two blocks and a steal.

June Mar Fajardo powered San Miguel with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while CJ Perez added 20 markers, seven boards, two dimes and two steals.

Marcio Lassiter was the only other Beerman in double figures with 16.

It was a defensive masterclass in the second half for the Bolts, holding the Beermen to just 35 points in the last two quarters.

Game 2 of the best-of-seven championship round will be on Friday, 7:30 p.m., at the same venue.