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Purefoods' Joe Devance challenges Meralco's Jared Dillinger. Photo by Mark Cristino for ABS-CBNNews.com

MANILA - Meralco ended the Purefoods Star Hotshots' reign as PBA Philippine Cup champion by squeezing out a 77-65 victory in the quarterfinal round of the season-opening conference on Thursday.

Coming into the game with a twice-to-beat advantage, the Bolts upended the Hotshots at the Cuneta Astrodome and arranged a knockout game against Alaska in the second phase of the playoffs.

Its big win and a big step for us, said Meralco coach Norman Black in the PBA website.

Jared Dillinger led the way for the Bolts with 14 points under his name. Meralco also got a big boost from Cliff Hodge and Mike Cortez, who churned out 12 and 11, respectively.

Meralco out-rebounded Purefoods while banking on steady shooting to take a 35-30 halftime lead.

The Bolts later broke the game open going to the final quarter, 56-48.

It was a big win for Black and his team after he left Talk N Text to coach Meralco this season.

Its a huge triumph for the Meralco program, he said.

Purefoods got 21 points from Joe Devance, who was most dangerous in the first half. James Yap added 14 points for the Hostshots, who were coming off a Grand Slam in the previous PBA season.

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Meralco topples Purefoods for KO game vs Alaska

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Pool Four opponents Montpellier pose stiff opposition in back-to-back clashes

Bath will effectively find themselves in knockout rugby mode when they tackle European Champions Cup opponents Montpellier tonight.

Successive defeats against Glasgow and Toulouse during the tournaments opening flurries in October mean that Bath cannot afford any further Pool Four slip-ups.

And the hard work begins with back-to-back clashes against Montpellier, starting in France and continuing at the Recreation Ground next Saturday, while current pool pace-setters Glasgow and Toulouse will feature on Baths January schedule.

Reaching the quarter-finals represents a tall order, but Bath maintained strong domestic form throughout November and they have no intention of throwing in the towel.

We are going into (Europe) with some form, but in this fixture I dont think form comes into it, Bath flanker Carl Fearns said.

Its basically a knockout game. We can turn around our tournament if we get a win.

It is going to be massive in the set-piece on Friday, and we need to dominate there.

This is a competition we want to play in, and it is a massive stage, so its about now and putting right the first two games.

Sam Burgess, meanwhile, looks set to make his Champions Cup debut after the former rugby league star was retained among Baths replacements for the Montpellier trip.

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Morning Star :: No second chances for Bath in France

Bath will effectively find themselves in knockout rugby mode when they tackle European Champions Cup opponents Montpellier on Friday night.

Successive defeats against Glasgow and Toulouse during the tournament's opening flurries in October mean that Bath cannot afford any further Pool Four slip-ups.

And the hard work begins with back-to-back clashes against Montpellier, starting in France and continuing at the Recreation Ground in eight days' time, while current pool pace-setters Glasgow and Toulouse will feature on Bath's January schedule.

Reaching the quarter-finals represents a tall order, but Bath maintained strong domestic form throughout November and they have no intention of throwing in the towel.

"We are going into it (Europe) with some form, but in this fixture I don't think form comes into it," Bath flanker Carl Fearns said.

"It's basically a knockout game. We can turn around our tournament if we get a win.

"It is going to be massive in the set-piece on Friday, and we need to dominate there.

"This is a competition we want to play in, and it is a massive stage, so it's about now and putting right the first two games."

Sam Burgess, meanwhile, looks set to make his Champions Cup debut after the former rugby league star was retained among Bath's replacements for the Montpellier trip.

Burgess made a long-awaited union bow six days ago, coming on as a second-half substitute during Bath's 25-6 Aviva Premiership victory over Harlequins.

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Bath to battle for European spot