MANILA: The man Meralco coach Norman Black refused to call a horse again worked like one Sunday night and helped the Bolts to a second straight win and the early lead in the PBA Governors’ Cup eliminations.
Allen Durham scored 36 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and issued six assists while being a factor on both ends in the stretch as Meralco pulled out a 100-96 victory over Alaska for a 2-0 card at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
Durham had a big bucket inside the final minute for a five-point Meralco cushion, and after the Aces had come within 99-96, forced Alaska counterpart Ledontay Henton to throw up a long triple try short that led to Chris Newsome sealing the deal with a free throw for what turned out to be the final count.
“It’s a good thing we were able to survive this weekend,” Black said, referring to two tough games in three days. “We played back-to-back games and we were worried because Alaska has been resting while we were playing.”
The Bolts seemed to have put a lock on the game a lot earlier, leading by 10 with under two minutes remaining before the Aces came up with their last-ditch stand that had Alaska creeping to within three.
RJ Jazul and Henton each made a triple, before Durham came up with that tight basket off an Alaska double-team that made it 99-94.
“What’s the thoroughbred’s numbers today?” Black asked mediamen with a smile. “Wow, those are great numbers. I really think that he will be a force in this conference and we just hope to get the most out of his talents.
“If he stays healthy, he will be dominant,” Black added of his import, who scored 32 points, had 22 boards and five assists in a 108-103 opening day win over Phoenix Petroleum.
Black was particularly pleased that they survived this weekend unscathed and is excited about being able to go to practice again and get some new guys familiar with his system.
“I’ll be happy to get back to practice, get (Asian import Mohammed) Jamshido and (Jonathan) Uyloan to practice with the team,” Black said. “We will utilize this week to become a better team and prepare against Tropang TNT.”
Jamshidi was scoreless in his second game on Philippine soil as effects of jetlag crept in on the Iranian National team mainstay. Like Uyloan, who was acquired in a trade with GlobalPort a few days before opening day, Jamshidi hasn’t practiced with the team yet.
Meralco returns to the floor next Saturday against its sister team the Tropang Texters.
Another import also showed his value and led San Miguel Beer to a 124-113 win over the Fuel Masters as the Beermen opened defense of their title in grand style in the curtain-raiser.
Reid’s dominance was on the offensive end, scoring 15 points in the third period when the Beermen turned things around.
“AZ is just a fierce competitor,” San Miguel coach Leo Austria said. “He doesn’t want to lose and he knows the importance of this game. We have a title to defend and he knows that there are a lot of competitive imports out there.”
There was also an incident early in the fourth quarter when Reid and Austria seemed to have a heated discussion on the bench after the San Miguel coach recalled his import and held him back from doing a lot more damage.
The Beermen closed out the third period with 13 unanswered points and Reid accounting for nine of them as San Miguel turned what once stood as an 11-point deficit into a 97-93 lead going into the fourth period.
Reid also scored the first three points in the payoff frame before Austria pulled him out, and the duo was seen having a discussion with Reid seemingly looking upset that he had to be rested.
Austria, though, downplayed the incident, saying it was just part of his import’s fire in wanting to win.
“It was just a case of miscommunication,” Austria said. “He really wants to win, but I told him that I wanted to rest him for even a couple of minutes for the endgame.”
Reid, a former two-time Best Import winner, finished with 41 points, while June Mar Fajardo backed him up with 21 and Alex Cabagnot 20.
Marcus Simmons couldn’t save the Fuel Masters from dropping to 0-2 despite his 28 points and 11 rebounds.
Meralco streaks to 2nd win against Alaska
Meralco streaks to 2nd win against Alaska
