By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Meralco Bolts went on a spirited endgame run to oust Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots in overtime, 113-107, in the 2022-2023 PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday night, March 22.

From a 103-all score with less than two minutes left, Kier John Quinto surged the Bolts ahead at 106-103, with a corner triple followed by another outside hit by KJ McDaniels for a 109-103 spread.

The Hotshots managed to cut it to four points twice via free throws from Andy Mark Barroca and Paul Lee, but free throw hits by Aaron Black and Chris Newsome sealed the win for the Bolts.

Newsome finished with a career-high 33 points to go with 11 rebounds, seven assists and two steals, while McDaniels added double-double 27 points and 10 rebounds for the Bolts.

Black also had double-double 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Chris Banchero hoisted four outside conversions to end up with 16 points for Meralco, which needed only one game to enter the next round due to its twice-to-beat incentive.

Paul Lee tallied 22 points, including three three-pointers, Antonio Hester had double-double 21 points and 19 rebounds, while Barroca and Calvin Abueva had 18 and 15 markers, respectively, for the Hotshots.

Semifinals action will begin today, March 24 at Ynares Center in Antipolo City with San Miguel Beermen facing Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings at 3:00 p.m., followed by the Tropang Giga-Bolts encounter at 5:45 p.m.

MERALCO 113 — Newsome 33, McDaniels 27, Banchero 16, Black 16, Maliksi 9, Almazan 7, Quinto 3, Hodge 2, Caram 0, Pasaol 0, Jose 0.

MAGNOLIA 107 — Lee 22, Hester 21, Barroca 18, Abueva 15, Jalalon 9, Dela Rosa 8, Dionisio 6, Escoto 4, Wong 4, Corpuz 0.

Quarterscores: 22-21, 47-49, 76-78, 103-103, 113-107./ASC, WDJ