MANILA, Philippines — Meralco drew heroic plays from Reynel Hugnatan and Raymond Almazan late to top Barangay Ginebra, 83-80, and force a deciding Game 5 in the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals Wednesday.
Hugnatan nailed the go-ahead jumper, 81-80, off a set up by Chris Newsome with 15.5 seconds left while Almazan rejected Stanley Pringle’s potential game-winning basket near the rim in the ensuing play.
“We really worked together this game,” Hugnatan said in Filipino after finishing with 19 points, four rebounds and four assists.
“That last play was for [Newsome], but he saw me [open] and I did not think about anything other than taking that shot.”
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