Power restored
Meralco ties series; LA scoreless
The Meralco Bolts have turned a PBA Governors’ Cup Finals that began as a one-sided affair into a showdown on the verge of a thrilling finish.
Import Allen Durham scored the decisive basket with 46.6 seconds left before he and the rest of the Bolts survived a crazy finish to sneak out an 8583 victory over Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and tie the best-of-seven title series at 2-2 last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Durham broke an 83-all tie, scoring off Reynel Hugnatan’s pass underneath for what eventually became as the winning basket that allowed Meralco to restore its quest to avenge last season’s Governors’ Cup finals defeat to Ginebra after losing the first two games.
But the Bolts had to hold their breath for a zany endgame sequence when Ginebra had two chances to at least force an extra five-minute overtime period.
Justin Brownlee missed a threepoint shot on the next play, and Meralco almost had the match sealed when Jared Dillinger was found open on the other end for a chance at extending the lead to four.
But Ginebra’s Sol Mercado blocked Dillinger’s easy attempt, giving Ginebra another lifeline. Fortunately for Meralco, Brownlee’s short shot for the tie hit the front rim as the buzzer sounded.
“It was a game we had to win because if we go down 3-1, it would have been very difficult for us to come back,” said Meralco coach Norman Black. “It’s a great win, just tied the series. Basically, we had at least two games there at the Philippine Arena now, that should be very exciting.”
The finals shifts to the cavernous venue located in Bocaue, Bulacan tomorrow where attendance is expected to at least double that of the 16,147 people who saw yesterday’s contest.
Durham finished with 28 points and 18 rebounds, Newsome had 18 points and 11 rebounds and Hugnantan produced another vintage performance with 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Baser Amer came out huge for Meralco as well, hitting a three-pointer from the right corner immediately after being inserted from a lengthy spell on the bench with 1:18 to go for an 8381 lead.
Brownlee, who posted 34 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, leveled the match for the 10th and final time on two foul shots eight seconds later before Meralco took the lead for good.
Meanwhile, San Miguel center June Mar Fajardo found himself in the company of all-time greats Ramon Fernandez and Alvin Patrimonio by bagging the Most Valuable Player award for the fourth time during the PBA Leo Awards held before the start of Game Four.
“Hindi ko talaga ine-expect na mata-tie ko yung record,” said the 27-yearold Fajardo, who started his streak of MVPs back in 2014, his second season in the professional league.
Fernandez won MVP awards in 1982, 1984, 1986 and 1988, while Patrimonio pulled off the feat in 1991, 1993, 1994 and 1997. Fajardo’s three straight MVPs from 2014 to 2016 is already a league record.
The 6-10 Fajardo, who helped San Miguel win the Philippine Cup – where he was declared Best Player of the Conference (BPC) – and Commissioner’s Cup, edged teammates Alex Cabagnot and Chris Ross for the top individual award. (With a report from Waylon Galvez)