Defending champion Meralco Bolts get some much-needed room in the PBA Philippine Cup playoff picture with back-to-back wins.
In rough times for Meralco, expect skipper Chris Newsome to rise to the occasion and spearhead the Bolts’ efforts to right the ship.
Newsome provided a steady presence as embattled defending PBA Philippine Cup champions arrested a worrisome two-game skid with back-to-back wins and firmed their position inside the playoff picture with an even 5-5 record.
The 6-foot-2 guard scored 19 points and added seven rebounds and three steals to lead the Meralco players in sharing the load, making up for the absence of suspended Cliff Hodge and posting a 103-85 romp over Blackwater.
Newsome followed this up with 21 markers, five assists, and two steals as the Bolts stopped streaking NLEX on its tracks, 108-92.
The twin victories put Meralco in a safer zone in the race for the quarterfinal slots, opening a three-win advantage against ninth-running Phoenix (2-5) and creating momentum ahead of its elims closeout against old rival Barangay Ginebra on May 30.
Newsome’s stellar performance and major impact on his team earned for him the PBA Press Corps-Pilipinas Live Player of the Week honors for the period May 21 to 24, 2025.
The newest member of the PBA’s 5,000-point scorer club, Newsome won the weekly citation for the first time in Season 49.
He got the nod over teammate CJ Cansino, who also played a key role in Meralco’s 2-0 outing, TNT’s RR Pogoy, who exploded with 35 in the Tropang 5G’s streak-extending 111-103 victory over Rain or Shine, and Ginebra’s Japeth Aguilar, who banged in 22 spiked by the game-winning jumper in the Gin Kings’ 101-99 escape act versus the Bossing.