Tag: Newsome

Chris Newsome career-best down the drain with Game 4 loss

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Meralco Bolts’ Chris Newsome during Game 4 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals against San Miguel Beermen. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

SCHEDULE: PBA Finals San Miguel vs Meralco

MANILA, Philippines—It may have been a career night for Chris Newsome, but that was the last thing on his mind after Meralco Bolts’ ‘ Game 4 loss to San Miguel in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.

Newsome scored a career best 40 points  only for the Bolts to lose to the Beermen and have the series pushed back to square one at 2-2.

“They made their adjustments. That’s what a playoff series is all about. They definitely came with a lot more energy today and you certainly saw it,” said Newsome.

“111? That’s definitely more than we’re used to giving up so for us it’s back to the drawing board and get back to playing Meralco basketball.”

READ: PBA Finals: San Miguel gets back at Meralco to tie series at 2-2

The final count is the largest scoring output for both squads, putting Meralco’s defensive prowess to shame.

Other than 40 points, Newsome also snagged six rebounds and four assists but it still wasn’t enough to give the Bolts the commanding 3-1 lead.

Instead of celebrating his new career milestone, Newsome chose to look ahead to Game 5 where the Bolts can take the pivotal 3-2 lead.

“It’s a best-of-three now l it’s going to come down to who’s playing the best  basketball at the right time. It’’s a tough loss for us today but that’s why we got the win in the last game, to have that advantage. We’re back to square one. It’s back to square one.”

“It’s going to be a grind out for the rest of the series.”

Meralco and San Miguel go at it again on Friday to see who gets the commanding 3-2 lead.

Newsome, Merlaco deliver own dagger in Game 3

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Chris Newsome and the Meralco Bolts after beating the San Miguel Beermen in Game 3 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Meralco defeated San Miguel in Game 3 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals in familiar fashion on Sunday night.

With the game on the line, Chris Newsome drilled a go-ahead triple from the corner with 34 seconds to go that turned out to be the dagger in the Bolts’ 93-89 escape for a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven title series.

“To be honest,  I wasn’t thinking. I was just being in the moment,” said Newsome.

“It felt good that my shot did fall but at the end of the day, you can’t let your guard down until it [the clock] says 0:00.”

READ: PBA Finals: Meralco escapes San Miguel for 2-1 series edge

Newsome’s shot was reminiscent of Marcio Lassiter’s 3-pointer with 13 ticks remaining that capped the Beermen’s late rally in the final 30 seconds of Game 2.

Newsome finished with 26 points, four rebounds and four assists. He came alive in the second half, where he fired 20 points.

Despite his heroics that include a pair of free throws to seal the game, the 30-year-old swingman put more emphasis on playing smarter especially down the stretch.

READ: PBA Finals: Meralco quickly moves on from Game 2 heartbreak

“It’s about staying present and focusing on possessions at hand. I hate turning the ball and having those mental lapses,” said Newsome, who committed a turnover with a minute left that led to a couple of freebies by June Mar Fajardo for an 89-88 San Miguel lead.

“Those are things I could look at after the game and I can’t let that affect me in the next play. My team’s counting on me to be strong for them and to be a leader for them.”

Fortunately for Newsome, he was able to redeem himself in a major way and win it for Meralco.

Bolts’ first title could be different from what Newsome has pictured

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Chris Newsome has been in the PBA playing for one team for almost a decade, but a championship has remained slippery for the dynamic Meralco star.

One could bet that the high-flying guard has imagined that special moment in his head one too many times in all of his time backstopping the Bolts.

“I’ve always pictured in my head that my first-ever PBA championship would be through an import conference,” he told the Inquirer with a sheepish smile, as the Bolts lead San Miguel Beer, 1-0, in the Philippine Cup Finals. “That’s just kind of how it was based off of our lineups and how strong San Miguel has been in the All-Filipino historically over the years.”

Meralco has contended for import-laden titles, particularly in the Governors’ Cup where they made all of its first four Finals appearances.

The Beermen, meanwhile, have won six of the last eight editions of the PH Cup, with the franchise owing a total of 10 titles, the most by any team.

Newsome has been a part of all of those four tries. Three of those attempts were with the tireless Allen Durham and the other with sweet-shooting Tony Bishop Jr., and the closest the Bolts came to a crown was during the 2017 Governors’ Cup when they lost to Barangay Ginebra in Game 7 at Philippine Arena in Bulacan.

‘Really working hard’

This latest chance against the Beermen, who are looking to extend their reign for a second-straight Philippine Cup, will be new to Newsome as it will be Meralco’s maiden appearance in the All-Filipino finalé. And this isn’t how he imagined things would be, either.

Not that he’s complaining.

“This says a lot about the franchise. I’ve been here nine years, and for us to be still making franchise history says a lot—that we’re really working hard,” he said.

“Sometimes it hurts to fail or to lose. At times it could be, you know, almost disheartening that you’ve been working so hard and things still (don’t go) in your favor,” he went on. “But all this is a confirmation that we are improving.”

And Newsome knows it would be a shame to let up when Meralco has come this far.

“No stopping now,” he said as he and the Bolts gun for a 2-0 edge at press time. “Just getting started.”