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| Allen Durham and the Meralco continued its winning ways to take the Game 1 win in Antipolo. PBA Media Bureau. |
By Ricky Manliguis
ANTIPOLO--
And Meralco continues to roll.
The
Bolts sustained its winning form as it upended Alaska, 97-92, and
take Game 1 of their semifinal showdown in the 2018 PBA Governors'
Cup at the Ynares Center Sunday night.
Fresh
from its quarterfinal win over the twice-to beat Phoenix Fuel, the
B-Boys got to a fiery start while stopping Alaska's fourth-quarter
comeback to move two games away from a third straight finals
appearance in the season-ending conference.
The
win was also the team's seventh straight win bridging from the
tail-end of the elimination round.
Banked
on a torrid first-quarter, Meralco went to as high as 16 points in
the match, 47-31, and looked to run away for victory.
But
the Aces mounted several uprisings in the fourth quarter, the last
trimming the deficit to 89-94 courtesy of a Mike Harris triple with
11 seconds left.
Baser
Amer then made good of three free throws to put the game away.
Durham
scored 32 points while grabbing 14 rebounds. Chris Newsome folllowed
suit with 16 markers, seven rebounds, and four assists, even as Amer
cashed in 14.
“I
think we are just running on adrenaline right now. We are running on
emotions having made the semis just two days ago,”
echoed coach Norman Black, who will be celebrating his 61st
birthday tomorrow.
Harris
led Alaska, which eliminated San Miguel in the quarters, with a
game-best 37 markers and 18 boards. Chris Banchero and Vic Manuel had
16 and 14 markers, respectively.
Meralco will be eyeing a 2-0 lead in Game 2 on Tuesday at the Mall Of Asia Arena.
The
Scores:
MERALCO 97 - Durham 32, Newsome 16, Amer 14, Hugnatan 9, Caram 7, Faundo 6,
Canaleta 6, Tolomia 5, Salva 2, Dillinger 0.
ALASKA 92 - Harris 37, Banchero 16, Manuel 14, Casio 5, Enciso 5,
Exciminiano 5, Teng 4, Pascual 4, Galliguez 2, Baclao 0, Racal 0,
Thoss 0.
Quarterscores:
25-17, 47-34, 72-56, 97-92.
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