SCHEDULE: 2024 PBA Philippine Cup semifinals
Meralco Bolts’ Bong Quinto during the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals game against Ginebra Gin Kings. –PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—Bong Quinto dug down deep to help Meralco stun Ginebra in Game 6 and force a rubber match in the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals at Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday.
With nothing left to lose and the pains of the past haunting him, Quinto did a little bit of everything to give the Bolts one more chance for a ticket to the PBA Finals with San Miguel.
“I just thought, ‘bahala na,’” said an exhausted Quinto after their 86-81 win over Ginebra. “I just gave all I can to help the team and I saw that [pay off] because I worked hard for it.”
READ: PBA: Meralco foils Ginebra closeout bid, forces semis Game 7
With the Bolts’ backs against the walls, Quinto scored a game-high 23 points with three rebounds to match a blistering 56 percent shooting clip from the field.
Other than holding the “no tomorrow” mentality, Quinto also used his past as fuel to knock Ginebra off its 3-2 advantage.
According to the Letran product, he’s felt one too many times a heartbreak at the hands of the Gin Kings.
Quinto doesn’t want that happening again anytime soon.
READ: PBA: Ginebra win fueled by abysmal loss to Meralco in elims
“This is so stressful. This is one of those things where you can’t just charge to experience. When you’re a rookie or a sophomore, you want to have more experience but now I want to win.”
“Ginebra has made me cry twice now. I always think about that.”
Although it wasn’t just Quinto who helped Meralco stay alive in the best-of-seven series as Chris Newsome also got in his offensive bag with 21 big points.
Allein Maliksi was also instrumental for coach Luigi Trillo as he finished with 14 points including some big buckets down the stretch.
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The long series comes to a halt on Friday at FPJ Arena in San Jose, Batangas at 7:30 pm, to determine who will face the Beermen in the final stage of the all-Filipino conference.