Meralco tries to close out the series and capture its first ever PBA championship, while San Miguel looks to stay alive and even the Philippine Cup Finals at 3-3
MANILA, Philippines – End or extend?
After another down-to-the-wire finish in Game 5, the Meralco Bolts are now just one win away from their first ever title in franchise history.
And as the Bolts try to close out the series, the San Miguel Beermen will look to stay alive and even the best-of-seven PBA Philippine Cup finals at 3-3 when they clash anew in Game 6 on Sunday, June 16, at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Bolts are fresh off a crucial 92-88 escape of the Beermen in Game 5, where they overcame a season-high 38-point explosion from Best Player of the Conference June Mar Fajardo.
After struggling mightily from the field in the past three games, Meralco veteran Allein Maliksi finally found his groove on offense, firing 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting to power the Bolts to the victory.
Meanwhile, Meralco star Chris Newsome continued his scoring spree as he followed up his 40-point Game 4 outing with 22 markers, to go with 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
Expect Maliksi, Newsome, and the rest of the Bolts, to play like there’s no tomorrow as they look to complete the finals upset and finish off the Beermen in six games for their breakthrough championship.
However, don’t count out the defending champion Beermen just yet as they shoot for another equalizer in this back-and-forth series.
The Bolts haven’t won back-to-back games in this finals as the Beermen always manage to bounce back from their losses, as seen in Games 2 and 4.
San Miguel, though, will need much better performances from its other stars namely CJ Perez and Marcio Lassiter, who combined for a dismal 7-of-27 field goal clip in Game 5.
Fajardo was the lone bright spot for San Miguel in the previous game as he connected on 14 of his 17 attempts from the field and shot a perfect 10-of-10 clip from the free throw line to reach 38 points, while also grabbing a game-high 18 rebounds.
Other key San Miguel players such as Don Trollano, Jericho Cruz, and Terrence Romeo, among others, must also step up offensively and help Fajardo carry the Beermen’s scoring load.
Game time is 6:15 pm. – Rappler.com
