Meralco denies Rain or Shine, spoils James Yap's throwback performance

Meralco spoiled a throwback performance from James Yap to hold off Rain or Shine, 85-78, in the elimination round of the PBA Philippine Cup on Thursday.

Big Game James started for the Elasto Painters and scored 18 points, but the team fell short of climbing out of the 23-point hole they found themselves in heading into the fourth quarter.

Rain or Shine managed to trim the lead into single digits, 80-71, with 1:36 left in the game, but the E-Painters ran out of gas to turn the tables in clutch.

The Bolts improved its record to 5-3 to grab a share of fourth place in the standings with three games left in its schedule. Meralco will next face TNT on Saturday.

Rain or Shine, meanwhile, slipped to 4-3 and will play streaking Magnolia on the same day.

Box score:

Meralco — Newsome 17, Amer 14, Hugnatan 13, Maliksi 9, Hodge 8, Quinto 8, Jamito 6, Black 5, Almazan 4, Pinto 1, Jackson 0.

Rain or Shine — Yap 18, Belga 11, Torres 11, Nambatac 8, Borboran 6, Wong 6, Tolentino 6, Onwubere 3, Norwood 2, Ponferada 2, Rosales 0.

—MGP, GMA News