Black says Meralco was on survival mode in Game 5 win vs Magnolia: 'There was no tomorrow for us'

Meralco Bolts head coach Norman Black sang praises for his players after holding off the Magnolia Hotshots and coming out with a 102-98 Game 5 victory on Wednesday in the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals.

Black, whose team was facing a 1-3 series deficit prior to the game, said they had to fight until the last second in order to turn back the Hotshots and avoid early elimination.

"There was no tomorrow for us," Black said in the post-game interview.

"It was a great [and] gutsy performance on the part of my players to go out and battle the whole game. We stood our ground, we made some big shots down the stretch, we kept our composure, and we gave ourselves a chance to come back in the series."

Meralco leaned on the solid performance of veteran wingman Allein Maliksi, who carved out a conference-high 29 points built on a masterful 7-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc for a 72 percent field goal percentage.

The former University of Santo Tomas standout also grabbed three rebounds and two steals in almost 37 minutes of action.

With his hot-shooting, Maliksi provided a boost to teammates Nards Pinto and Chris Newsome who each poured in 24 and 23 markers to help steer Meralco past Magnolia.

"In this game, our backs are against the wall and we just told ourselves to give our best effort," Maliksi said in a mix of English and Filipino.

"For my part, I think I needed to step up because we were in a do-or-die situation. I needed to set a good example to my teammates as a veteran."

Meralco will vie to tie the series come Game 6 on Friday to force a deciding Game 7.

"I'm telling my teammates to just play one game at a time and don't think of the pressure," Maliksi said.

—MGP, GMA News