Reynel Hugnatan delivered in the clutch for Meralco, which staved off elimination and forced a do-or-die match in the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup semifinals by escaping with a nail-biting 83-80 win Wednesday at the AUF Sports Arena and Cultural Center.
Hugnatan, who finished with 19 huge points off the bench, sank the eventual game-winner for the Bolts by draining a long two-pointer on the right wing off a Chris Newsome kick-out to give Meralco a slim 81-80 advantage with 15.1 seconds left.
Ginebra had a chance to snatch the win in the final 10 seconds, but Meralco came away with two huge stops on Stanley Pringle to preserve the win.
Head coach Norman Black said that Hugnatan dagger was really designed both for the 42-year-old vetaran and for Newsome. Meralco was down one at that point with about 20 seconds left after missing a pair of good looks in prior possessions.
Raymond Almazan later came up big for the Bolts by rejecting Pringle at the rim with eight seconds left. That led to an easy lay-in by Newsome on the other end.
Newsome finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, six steals and five assists for Meralco. Cliff Hodge also showed up with 16 and six boards, while Almazan tallied 11 points and three boards.
Pringle had 18 but struggled with his shot (7-for-19) in the loss for the Gin Kings. Jared Dillinger threw in 15 points off the bench, while Scottie Thompson had 13, eight rebounds and five dimes in 40 minutes.
Ginebra looked poised to punch the first finals ticket after a massive third quarter outburst swung the momentum in its favor. Down 15 early in the third quarter, the Gin Kings proceeded to outscore Meralco 33-16 and enter the final frame with a four-point lead, 64-60.
Dillinger and LA Tenorio starred after the break for Ginebra. Tenorio hit two threes in a 9-0 run that first cut a 44-31 lead to just six, then Dillinger later joined in on the three-point barrage by sinking one of his own to cap a 20-6 start that gave Ginebra the lead, 51-50, with over four minutes remaining.
Meralco fought back with a sense of urgency behind Newsome, who put the Bolts up 79-76 with a tough jumper with 2:21 to go.
But Ginebra hung around, as Aguilar came alive to score the last 10 points for the Gin Kings, including a jumper off a pick-and-pop with Pringle to help his team take an 80-79 advantage with 1:25 remaining.
The Bolts have a chance to enter the All-Filipino finals for the first time in franchise history with a win on Friday, but Black knows Meralco has so much work ahead if it wants to get over the hump against a Ginebra team that has bested them in three previous battles on the championship stage.
