Meralco got back at San Miguel Beer in the most emphatic fashion with a 100-85 victory in their quarterfinal matchup Friday, March 18 to become the first team to make the semifinals of the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With their 26-point collapse against the Beermen in the eliminations still at the back of their minds, the Bolts made sure they would put the clamps down on import Shabazz Muhammad while also sustaining their big second half lead until the end to complete their short route towards the last four of the season-ending conference.
Import Tony Bishop atoned for his struggles against SMB in their previous meeting while Chris Newsome, Cliff Hodge and Reynel Hugnatan were among the many Meralco players who came through for coach Norman Black.
Bishop had 32 points on 12-of-24 shooting, 16 rebounds, four assists and two blocks while Newsome amped up his game in the second half to score 22 points with seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Hugnatan, usually known to step up during playoff time, hit all of his nine points on three triples in the second quarter which helped Meralco take a 48-40 halftime lead.
Hodge was one of many Bolts who embraced the challenge of guarding Muhammad, who sizzled for 57 points during the Beermen’s 115-110 comeback win.
Unlike that last encounter, Hodge shared duties with Bong Quinto to limit a frustrated Muhammad to just 24 points.
Bishop, on the other hand, erupted for 18 and Meralco rode on his hot hands to take a 79-61 lead at the end of the third and 81-61 to open the fourth which SMB couldn’t recover.
Terrence Romeo scored 17 points while CJ Perez and June Mar Fajardo added 12 apiece but the Beermen ended their season early despite shoring up the roster before and during the conference that have made them arguably the most talented team on paper.
Instead, it will be the hardworking Meralco squad that punched its ticket to a fourth consecutive semifinal appearance, a franchise record.
The Bolts will face either the twice-to-beat Magnolia Pambansang Manok Hotshots or Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters in a best-of-five semis.
The scores:
MERALCO 100 — Bishop 32, Newsome 22, Banchero 9, Hugnatan 9, Almazan 8, Maliksi 6, Quinto 4, Black 4, Hodge 4, Baclao 2, Jose 0.
SAN MIGUEL 85 — Muhammad 24, Romeo 17, Fajardo 12, Perez 12, Ross 6, Lassiter 5, Brondial 5, Manuel 4, Tautuaa 0, Cruz 0.
Quarters: 26-26, 48-40, 79-61, 100-85.