Meralco Bolts forward Cliff Hodge during Game 3 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals against the San Miguel Beermen.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Meralco has been doing almost everything right in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals so far.
The Bolts on Sunday regained the upper hand in their best-of-seven series with the San Miguel Beermen after a pulsating win in Game 3 and while it was Chris Newsome’s late 3-pointer that propelled them to victory, winning the rebounding battle was another reason why they’re halfway there to a breakthrough championship.
“It’s definitely a focus of interest for us. We know that if we can dominate the rebounding, we’ll have a great shot at winning the game,” explained Hodge after Meralco’s 93-89 squeaker over San Miguel.
READ: PBA Finals: Chris Newsome, Meralco deliver own dagger in Game 3
“All the bigs have to guard June Mar (Fajardo) and try to slow him down. I mean he’s the best, the GOAT of the PBA and it’s a hard job for them to slow him down and they gotta box him out so I’m just trying to get as many rebounds as I can.”
Hodge came up big for the Bolts anew, notching a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds, six of which on the offensive end.
Raymond Almazan also held it down for Meralco in the shaded area, finishing with 17 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out in the final minute.
READ: PBA Finals: Rest vital for SMB heading into Game 4, says CJ Perez
With Hodge and Almazan making their presence felt, the Bolts out-rebounded the Beermen, 57-50, which had been the case for the first three games of the finals.
Meralco had 22 offensive rebounds overall that led to 22 second-chance points.
Hodge, though, is fully aware that the battle is still far from over.
“We’ll definitely watch the viewing. I honestly don’t think we played that great of a game. [We] had a lot of mistakes defensively.”
“[We’ll] just clean up our game plan and clean up all our mistakes and focus on the next game. That’s about it.”
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