BOLTS REGAIN SERIES LEAD

Power restored, control regained. Quickly rebounding from their Game 2 fumble, the Meralco Bolts eked out a 93-89 nail-biter over the San Miguel Beermen to take the driver’s seat anew in the PBA Philippine Cup finals at 2-1 last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

- OLMIN LEYBA

If their finishing in the previous match was a flop, the Bolts made good this time with Chris Newsome taking charge.

Newsome knocked down a booming corner triple for the go-ahead, 91-89, then added two dagger free throws with 11.3 seconds left to seal Meralco’s pull-around after Friday’s 94-95 loss marred by a blown four-point lead in the last 25.6 seconds.

“That’s a tough loss for us, especially in the situation that we’re in. But that goes to show that you can’t let your guard down at any point during this series,” said Newsome, who fired nine of his 26 points in winning time.

“For us to get the win today, it’s great but we know there’s so much that we have to do, there’s so many mistakes (to correct moving forward),” he added.