MERALCO turned to its strength and held Barangay Ginebra to its lowest output in a championship series to regain the upperhand in the PBA Governors' Cup finals.
The Bolts limited the Kings to just 13 fourth quarter points on their way to hacking out the 83-74 win for a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
The 74-point output by the Kings were their lowest output in the finals since an 88-67 loss to TNT in Game 3 of the 2020 Philippine Cup at the Clark bubble.
It was also a season-low for the reigning, defending champions after an 84-71 loss to TNT that eliminated them in the quarterfinals of the last all-Filipino conference.
Meralco coach Norman Black admitted it was a grinding game between the two rival teams based on the final score.
"It was difficult to score out there, and it was a matter of getting some stops and try to hold on as long as we could," he said.
The Kings shot better from the floor behind a 40 percent clip compared to the 35 percent of the Bolts, but couldn't convert when they needed it most during a crucial stretch in the fourth quarter when Meralco went on a 14-5 flurry that gave it a 77-71 lead on a one-handed dunk by import Tony Bishop.
The Bolts likewise clamped on the Ginebra shooters down the stretch, with guards LA Tenorio and Scottie Thompson held to a combined two points in the final quarter.
Justin Brownlee meanwhile, ended up with his lowest output in the finals with 19 points after averaging 31. 5 points in the first two games. He did finish though, with 15 rebounds, seven assists, and six block shots.
"Give a lot of credit to Meralco, they played tough, they played hard. Coach Norman Black really came out with a good game plan against our team, and they came out and executed well," Brownlee acknowledged after the game watched by a crowd of 16,104 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Both teams get a two-day break before Game 4 is played Wednesday when the series shifts at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. (RG)(PBA)
(Photo credits to: Sagisag PH)