MANILA, Philippines — Meralco’s searing offensive blended so well with its defense as it bludgeoned third seed Rain or Shine, 96-79 to force a sudden death in their PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup quarterfinals on Saturday at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Bolts’ electrifying opening period saw them outgun the Elasto Painters, 35-15, before stretching their lead to as high as 34 points.
While ROS managed to cut the deficit to just 12 points heading into the last four minutes of the fourth quarter, Meralco just established too big of a lead, en route to the win and setting up the knockout match scheduled next Monday.
Cliff Hodge, Chris Newsome and Bong Quinto set the tone for Meralco’s strong first half surge, with the rest of their teammates sustaining the intensity.
Newsome, Quinto and Hodge led Meralco with 14 points apiece, while Aaron Black and Jansen Rios had 12 each in a balanced scoring attack.
Adrian Nocum and Gian Mamuyac led ROS with 17 and 16 points respectively.
The Elasto Painters shot just under 35 percent from the field, and had less assists versus the Bolts, 8-19.
ROS also shot an abysmal 4-of-33 from three-point zone for just 12 percent.
