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| Allen Durham and the Meralco Bolts are heading to the final four (PBA Images) |
By Patrick Sutare
ANTIPOLO CITY-- The Meralco
Bolts powered past the Mahindra Enforcer yet again, this time pounding the
Playoff neophytes with a 105-82 win at the Ynares Center on Saturday to secure a
spot at the semifinals of the PBA Governor’s Cup.
Allen Durham registered 24 points and 16
boards for the Bolts, which stayed the course after a slow start, trailing by
as much as 15 points in the early goings before hitting the right pace in the
second half to get back and later pull away from the Enforcer.
Meralco will be making its second straight
Semifinal appearance, and will face either sister team TNT or Phoenix.
Mahindra, on the other hand, will lean on
the positives going to the off season. The Manny Pacquiao-faced squad
punctuated the season with their most impressive record since joining the
league in 2014, including a striking 4-0 start that momentarily situated them
at the top spot of the standings.
James White paced the Enforcer with a 20-10
stat line, who, despite the loss, has nothing but buoyant words for his team
after making the Quaterfinal stage for the first time.
Chris Newsome contributed 19 markers in an
efficient 75 percent shooting for Meralco. Cliff Hodge and Jared Dillinger
chipped in 14 and 12, respectively.
Mahindra’s top local weapons all had their
off night. Local scoring leader Aldrech Ramos struggled with just three points
in less than 20 minutes of action, while KG Canaleta and LA Revilla combined
for just eight points.
The scores:
MERALCO 105 – Durham 24, Newsome 19,
Hodge 14, Dillinger 12, Amer 7, Alapag 6, Faundo 6, Hugnatan 6, Nabong 5, Caram
2, Chua 2, Guevarra 2, Uyloan 0, Al-Hussaini 0, Buenafe 0
MAHINDRA 82 – White 20, Digregorio 14,
Guinto 8, Agovida 7, Paniamogan 7, Taha 6, Canaleta 5, Jaime 5, Ballesteros 4,
Ramos 3, Revilla 3, Bagatsing 0, Gallanza 0, Yee 0
Quarterscores: 18-26, 50-45,
84-61, 105-82
Follow him on Twitter: @patricksutare
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