CHRIS Newsome could only look back at how it started now that he finally won a very first PBA championship with Meralco.
"They (Bolts) believed in me since they drafted me back in 2015. You know, it's been a crazy ride from that draft day until now," said the Fil-Am guard out of Ateneo.
"I'm just happy that I was able to fulfill my commitment to bring Meralco its first championship."
Truly, it was Newsome who delivered the first championship trophy in franchise history as his fade away jumper with 1.3 seconds left sealed the Bolts' thrilling 80-78 win over the San Miguel Beermen Sunday night in the Philippine Cup finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Newsome, picked no. 4 overall by the Bolts in the draft nine years ago, scored nine of his team-high 15 points in the pivotal fourth to help the team wrap up the best-of-seven series, 4-2.
Sponsored content: His clutch basket came just after June Mar Fajardo buried a surprise three pointer off a broken San Miguel play that tied the game at 78 time down to 3.3 seconds.
Although stunned by what he described as a 'great shot by Abai,' the 33-year-old Newsome didn't lose hope and kept his composure.
"It (San Miguel) kept them alive. But at that point, anything can happen," Newsome recalled. "There's still time on the clock, and the one thing on my mind is that we still have a chance. With two seconds, you can definitely get a look of. It's just about getting to a spot and giving yourself a chance to make the shot."
Newsome just did that, before the Bolts watched Fajardo missed a potential game-winning three pointer at the buzzer to finally win their long-cherished title.
"It feels like a dream. But at the same time, I put the work on this, so I know I deserved this. I know all the guys in that locked room deserved this as well. I see them come to work every single day and it's nice to finally get that breakthrough championship for Meralco," said the Finals MVP. (RG)
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