The 2024–25 PBA Philippine Cup continued on Wednesday with a pair of games at the Ynares Center in Antipolo. Here’s a recap of the action:
Meralco Bucks Cliff Hodge Suspension, Shakes Off Blackwater
The Meralco Bolts bucked the absence of veteran Cliff Hodge in beating the Blackwater Bossing, 103-85, to break out of a two-game slump.
Chris Newsome fired 19 points and grabbed 7 rebounds as he reached a personal milestone by barging into the PBA’s 5,000-point club. CJ Cansino, Chris Banchero, Raymar Jose, and Brandon Bates all finished in double digits, chipping in 14, 13, 12, and 10, respectively, as the Bolts took control in the second to hand Blackwater its fifth loss against a sole win.
Christian David led Blackwater with 24, followed by Sedrick Barefield’s 23 and Russell Escoto’s 11.
The scores:
Meralco (103) – Newsome 19, Cansino 14, Banchero 13, Jose 12, Bates 10, Black 9, Almazan 8, Pasaol 4, Mendoza 4, Torres 2, Rios 0, Maguliano 0
Blackwater (85) – David 24, Barefield 23, Escoto 11, Mallillin 7, Casio 6, Caperal 3, Jopia 3, Mitchell 2, Ayonayon 2, Tratter 2, Andrade 2, Ilagan 0, Chua 0, Corteza 0, Guinto 0
Up Next:
Meralco vs. NLEX Road Warriors on May 25 (PhilSports Arena)
Blackwater vs. Barangay Ginebra San Miguel on May 23 (PhilSports Arena)
TNT Douses Rain or Shine as Roger Pogoy, Poy Erram Combine for 66
Roger Pogoy and Poy Erram each scored at least 30 to power the TNT Tropang Giga to a 111-103 triumph over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. It is the Tropa’s fourth straight win.
Pogoy finished with a game-high 35, while Erram fired a career-best 31 markers to lead the way for TNT. Calvin Oftana added 28 points anchored on a quartet of triples—including one that gave the Tropa a 104-92 lead down the stretch. Oftana’s trey was one of TNT’s six triples in the fourth to outscore Rain or Shine, 34-29, and turn a close game into a blowout.
Andrei Caracut top-scored for Rain or Shine with 20, while Gian Mamuyac had 18. Jhonard Clarito and Keith Datu chipped in 17 and 10, respectively, for the Elasto Painters, who saw their two-game winning run snapped.
The scores:
TNT (111) – Pogoy 35, Erram 31, Oftana 28, Enciso 8, Khobuntin 5, Aurin 3, Razon 1, Williams 0, Varilla 0, Heruela 0
Rain or Shine (103) – Caracut 20, Mamuyac 18, Clarito 17, Datu 10, Nocum 8, Santillan 7, Norwood 7, Lemetti 6, Asistio 5, Malonzo 5, Belga 0
Up Next:
TNT vs. NorthPort Batang Pier on May 30 (Smart Araneta Coliseum)
Rain or Shine vs. San Miguel Beermen on June 7 (Cagayan de Oro City Convention Center)
2024–25 PBA Philippine Cup Continues
The 2024–25 PBA Philippine Cup continues on Friday at the PhilSports Arena with the NLEX Road Warriors staking their five-game winning streak against the Converge FiberXers in the curtain-raiser. Barangay Ginebra San Miguel will be looking for its third straight win when it takes on Blackwater in the nightcap.
