Bolts remain wary despite 3-2 lead over Beermen

MANILA, Philippines -- “By no means is this a done series.”

Despite inching to a win away from a breakthrough PBA championship, Meralco Bolts guard Chris Newsome said the job is far from finished.

Meralco is leading the PBA Philippine Cup finals against the defending champions San Miguel Beermen, 3-2, and have a chance to take home the title on Sunday evening.

But Newsome said the team is focusing on taking it one possession at a time, especially after having previous heartbreaks in the finals.

“Yeah, those losses that we had previously, they hurt and they helped to teach a lesson and hopefully we respond well to the situation that’s at hand and take advantage of the situation that’s at hand,” he told reporters after the Bolts’ 92-88 Game 5 win on Friday.

“But, by no means is this a done series at all. As you can see, no one’s won back-to-back games in this series so that’s the challenge right now that’s ahead of us, try to win back-to-back games,” he added.

The former Ateneo Blue Eagle added that they are wary of how dangerous San Miguel could be especially with their backs against the wall.

“If we can do it on Sunday, that’s great but if San Miguel’s gonna come out with a lot of energy, then… you know, they’re gonna do everything because it’s do-or-die for them now,” he stressed.

“For us, we just need to have more motivation or more determination to overcome that because we understand the situation that’s on hand and we know they’re gonna come right now.

It’s on us to stay focused and don’t let the situation allow us to take us out of our execution and what we need to do as a team. Just focus on every possession and the rest will happen.”

San Miguel trailed 2-3 in the championship round four times in the last 15 years, and they still won the title three times, according to PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III.

However, the gritty Bolts are also holding a 3-2 lead for the first time in franchise history.

Game 6 will surely be a banger, and tip-off is at 6:15 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.