Why Chris Newsome went for poster dunk against Arwind Santos

In his PBA debut, Meralco rookie Chris Newsome showed he has the guts to take on the league's top players.

The fourth overall pick posterized former MVP Arwind Santos with a vicious slam as the Bolts dueled against defending champion San Miguel Beer on Wednesday.

Newsome admitted it was payback for the veteran forward's huge shot block on him in the first half.

"From that point I figured he was gonna try to get another one so I thought I'll challenge him to a little air battle," he told reporters after the game.

The former Ateneo star saw his opportunity in the third quarter on a fastbreak play, getting the feed from Jared Dillinger as Santos waited for him at the post.

Newsome let out a triumphant roar as brought the house down with the play.

"I was fortunate enough for that one to go in. It felt great of course it's my PBA debut, so it felt good to have a highlight such as that on my opening game," the Meralco guard said.

"You can say that's the highlight that probably announced, 'I am here in the PBA!' I finally made it to this level and I get to play with these guys," he added.

Newsome rolled his ankle shortly after the dunk, but he was able to return to the game in the fourth quarter. He finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. --JST, GMA News