Bolts, hotshots roar on

SMART CLARK GIGA CITY, Pampanga, Philippines — Meralco and Magnolia racked up back-to-back triumphs in a grueling two-day calendar to give their respective PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals quests a big boost yesterday.

Just 27 hours separate from their winning game over Blackwater (89-85), the Bolts found the extra energy to take on Rain or Shine and prevail, 85-78, to secure their fifth victory in eight starts.

The Bolts overcame a sputtering finish after seizing a 23-point third-quarter lead to pull through in the late afternoon duel at the AUF Sports Arena Powered by Smart 5G and jump to a share of fourth and fifth.

“We needed this win especially with a tight race for the playoffs,” said Baser Amer, who delivered 14 points, six rebounds and seven assists in the win that put them closer to a quarterfinal berth.

“We’re motivated to make it to the quarterfinals because we’ve missed the playoffs for the last five all-Filipino conferences,” he added.

Like Meralco, the Hotshots still had the legs in getting the job done against winless Terrafirma, 103-89, merely 17 hours after bringing down TNT Tropang Giga (102-92).

Now on a three-game roll, surging Magnolia cemented its hold of No. 8 with an even 4-4 card.

ROS, which occupied second place just before the pro league’s short four-day break, skidded to its second straight loss and fell to sixth.

The Bolts used a telling 28-7 exchange in the third stanza to pull away from the E-Painters. They nearly squandered this with an erratic fourth but managed to hold off rallying ROS in the end.

“We actually played really well in the second half up until the last five or six minutes of the game. But under the circumstances, we’re 5-3, so we’re just happy to get the victory and move on,” said Meralco coach Norman Black.

Chris Newsome topscored with 17, including two charities that restored an 84-76 cushion going to the last 32 seconds for the Bolts.

His 27-point explosion in the TNT toppling still fresh, Paul Lee heated up some more and erupted for 29 spiked by five triples to lead the Hotshots to a follow-up victory.

Magnolia started off slow and trailed by 10 early on but asserted themselves in the third, where Lee conspired with Rome dela Rosa and Ian Sangalang in an 11-0 run to push the team ahead, 60-48.

“We actually struggled in the first half,” said Magnolia mentor Chito Victolero.

“It was a very hard game last night (Wednesday) and so our worry was how to recover our legs. But I told the players we’ll just rest tonight (Thursday) because we have to win this very important game.”

Dela Rosa finished with 17 while Sangalang added 10 for Magnolia.

CJ Perez shot 19 for the Dyip who are now on the brink of eliminations with a 0-7 mark.