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Allein Maliksi’s impressive performance in the PBA Philippine Cup finals helped Meralco take a 3-2 lead over San Miguel and move closer to a breakthrough title
MANILA, Philippines — If the Manila Coppers want to win its first PBA title, Alain Maliksi knows he has to do his part.
Maliksi played well in the Philippine Cup finals, providing great support to the Lightning offense as Meralco defeated San Miguel 92-88 to capture the championship. Game 5 on Friday, June 14 at the Araneta Coliseum.
Maliksi scored 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting, along with five rebounds and a block, helping the Lightning to a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.
“I challenged myself to play. I was more confident offensively,” Maliksi said in a mix of Filipino and English. “I challenged myself to be aggressive, to be a leader, to be a veteran.”
This all-Filipino title battle saw the rise of many heroes from the Meralco team, which was seen as a definite underdog at the start of the series but ended up defying expectations.
Chris Newsome exploded in the game, scoring a career-high 40 points Game 4while Cliff Hodge scored a season-high 25 points Game 2but their performance plummeted and the Lightning lost two games in a row.
Raymond Almazan also stole the spotlight, rebounding in his second game with a 17-point, 13-rebound double-double. Game 3 The victory, tied with seven-time MVP winner June Mar Fajardo.
Maliksi first round He won the game with 15 points, but he scored in single digits in the next three games while shooting a dismal 28%.
So it was refreshing to see Maliksi take over, taking some of the offensive burden off of Newsome and giving Meralco another scoring option.
“I need to step up because New, Bon (Quinto), Raymond and Cliff have all stepped up. Now it’s my turn to step up,” Maliksi said.
Newsome continued his impressive performance with 22 points, five rebounds and five assists, and hit two key free throws with less than 10 seconds left to shut down the Beermen’s run.
San Miguel trailed 80-90 on a Maliksi basket with 3:25 left, then went on an 8-0 run that ended with a CJ Perez 3-pointer and free throws to make it 88-90.
But the Chargers held on, thanks to Newsome, who calmly made his free throws to finish the game with a perfect 10-for-10 mark.
“The key is to stay calm. We know they are going to come back. San Miguel is a strong team and we are not going to lose sight of that fact,” Maliksi said.
Almazan and Chris Banchero added 14 points and 12 rebounds, respectively, to help Meralco take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series for the first time in franchise history.
Beermen star Junior Fajardo set a season high with 38 points (14-of-17 FG, 10-of-10 FT), to go along with 18 rebounds and two blocks, but he lacked adequate help from his teammates.
CJ Perez shot 4-of-16 from the field and contributed 17 points despite a low shooting percentage, while no other San Miguel player scored in double digits, and the Beermen failed to reach 90 points for the third time in this finals, and both times ended in defeat.
Marcio Lassiter was on track to surpass PBA legend Alan Caldecott for second place on the all-time list of three-point shooters, but he missed all three of his three-point attempts and finished with just six points for San Miguel.
score
Meralco 92 – Maliksi 22, Newsome 22, Almazan 14, Banchero 12, Quinto 8, Bates 6, Hodge 6, Karam 2, Rios 0, Torres 0, Pascual 0.
St. Michael 88 – Fajardo 38, Perez 17, Lassiter 6, Romeo 6, Cruz 6, Tautua 5, Trolano 5, Ross 3, Manuel 2.
Quarter: 24-25, 47-46, 69-70, 92-88.
– Rappler.com
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