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MANILA, Philippines — Things are going in an interesting way for Chris Newsom.
Newsome led Meralco to a breakthrough PBA title, just as they lost the first time around, as he scored the game-winning goal that helped the Lightning defeat San Miguel to claim the Philippine Cup. 80-78 win on Sunday, June 16, in Game 6 at the Araneta Coliseum.
Newsome shook off his shooting woes and hit a baseline jumper with 1.3 seconds left to break a 78-78 deadlock and give the championship team, which had been out of reach, cheers.
The goal went some way to make up for all the pain Meralco had endured over the years, ever since it was defeated by rival Barangay Ginebra, all thanks to Justin Brownlee’s game-winning three-pointer in Game 6 of the 2016 Governors’ Cup final.
In the championship game, the Bolts lost to the Gin Kings three more times before finally defeating the powerful Beermen to win the championship.
“It was pretty fun how the game turned out,” said Newsome, who finished with 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
“My first final really hurt me. It actually taught me a lot about what I could do better and what I needed to do better as a player and as a professional,” he added. “Without those defeats, I don’t think I would be where I am today.”
Newsome hadn’t shot anything before his heroics in the final moments of the game.
He missed his first seven shots and entered the final minute of the game having made just three of his 16 attempts.
It didn’t help that momentum began to shift in San Miguel’s favor after June Mar Fajardo hit an incredible 3-pointer with 3.3 seconds left to tie the game at 78-78, capping a 20-9 run to close the first round.
But all the pain Newsome had endured in the past had prepared him for this moment.
“I’ve been practicing this shot, I’ve practiced it thousands of times. To a lot of people, it just seems like good luck, but at the same time, it’s something that I practice every day. So it wasn’t a surprise to me and to everybody else in the locker room that this shot went in,” Newsome said.
“The story behind this is to have courage, to try, and even if you fail, it’s OK because you can still learn from it, you can continue to grow, and ultimately it makes you a better person,” he added.
“I learned from all my losses. I lost to Kimbra in the finals so many times, and those losses are what kept me going and improving. You saw the rewards today.”
In addition to his first title, Newsome also won Finals Most Valuable Player He averaged 22.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists in six games and was a worthy winner.
Allein Maliksi scored 14 points off the bench for Newsome, and Chris Banchero had a near triple-double with 10 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, as the team finally won its first championship after six finals losses, including three to San Miguel while he was playing for Alaska.
Bong Quinto scored 11 points, Raymond Almazan had nine points, 10 rebounds and two blocks, and Cliff Hodge had six points, six rebounds and two blocks.
“I’m very proud of this guy for stepping up. We’ve been through a lot of adversity, a lot of tough moments,” Meralco head coach Luigi Trillo said. “This is very fulfilling for us. It wasn’t an easy road. We really had to win this game.”
Fajardo finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds and five assists for the Beermen, who as the league’s best player lost their first all-Filipino final since joining the storied franchise in 2012.
CJ Perez had 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists, while Marcio Lassiter and Mo Tautuaa added 11 and nine points, respectively, in the loss.
score
Meralco 80 – Newsome 15, Maliksi 14, Quinto 11, Banchero 10, Almazan 9, Karam 6, Torres 6, Hodge 6, Bates 3, Rios 0.
St. Michael 78 – Fajardo 21, Perez 14, Lassiter 11, Tautua 10, Romeo 9, Trolano 7, Ross 1, Enciso 0, Teng 0, Cruz 0, Burundil 0
Quarter: 29-18, 47-40, 63-58, 80-78.
– Rappler.com
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