Second-ranked Meralco joined the march of the top seeds to the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup Final Four, crushing NLEX's upset dream with a 97-86 victory last 1 October 2021 at the Don Honorio Ventura State U Gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.
Losing in a tight first game, the Bolts worked hard to build a safe distance this time and completed an emphatic triumph to advance to the best-of-seven semifinals versus No. 3 Magnolia.
And thus all top four teams advanced to the semis - something not seen in the league in the past seven conferences.
The other semis pairing is a gigantic duel between top seed TNT Tropang Giga and No. 4 San Miguel Beer.
Chris Newsome sizzled with 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists, Cliff Hodge and Anjo Caram came through with 16 markers each while Reynel Hugnatan added 11 to lead the Bolts to a second straight semis stint in the all-Filipino tourney.
The rest of the Meralco crew had their contribution as the Bolts put up a solid job on both ends, paving the way for a pair of corporate wars in the semis.
NLEX took the exit, joining Blackwater, Alaska Milk, Terrafirma, Phoenix Super LPG, Barangay Ginebra, NorthPort and Rain or Shine.
After falling behind by 18 points in the third, the Road Warriors tried to get back into the fight with a small lineup, but just couldn't rattle the Bolts.
Then they had their bad breaks, including a flagrant infraction incurred by Alas while they're in a hot chase in the fourth.
There's also Calvin Oftana going scoreless after firing away 14 in the first half.
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