Meralco showed no mercy and zapped Terrafirma, 105-89, to wrap up its elimination round campaign on high note in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Thursday, July 21.
The Bolts came out firing as Chris Newsome, Aaron Black and Raymond Almazan showed no letup despite playing the already-ran Dyip to rise to a 7-4 record and solidify their spot in the Top 6 of the standings and secure a best-of-three affair in the quarterfinals while keeping Terrafirma winless in the all-Filipino conference
Newsome led the charge for Meralco with an all-around game of 19 points, six rebounds and five assists while Black provided support with 16 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Raymond Almazan also towered over Terrafirma’s bruising frontline with 14 points and nine rebounds while Allein Maliksi and Bong Quinto chipped in 14 and 13.
The win came as a huge confidence booster for Meralco heading to the playoffs as it awaits its opponent in the quarterfinals. Terrafirma, on the other hand, exited the conference with a lowly 0-11 record at the cellar of the standings.
Seen to just easily walk past the Dyip, Meralco stand-in coach Luigi Trillo said Terrafirma gave them a run for their money and it was just unfortunate that coach Johndel Cardel had to deal with injuries to his key players.
“Credit to Terrafirma marami silang kulang na player they have 5-6 players na wala so Johndel Cardel, if you think of last conference sa bubble madami silang na upset so all praises to him. It's tough to have injuries. We knew that this was their last game and they came to play,” said Trillo
“I thought we're trying our best but they didn't play with panic, they were moving the ball, sharing the load and it was a tough game. We have to earn it,” he added.
Aldrech Ramos continued to be the bright spot for Terrafirma with 24 points while Eric Camson and Joshua Munzon added 14 and 13 in losing efforts.
Although the Bolts built a pair of twin digit leads in the first half, the Dyip hung tough and even managed to inch close, 43-38, late in the second frame. Meralco then needed a huge fourth quarter anchored on Newsome and Black to finally shake off the pesky Terrafirma to bag the win.