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| KJ McDaniels prevailed over Allen Durham in their high-scoring battle. PBA Media Group |
QUEZON CITY--TNT completed a huge rally to upend Meralco, 116-113, in a battle between red-hot teams in the PBA Governors' Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Saturday night.
The Bolts could not sustain a hot start, and instead, the KaTropa broke loose in the final three quarters to stay unbeaten in the season-ending conference.
Behind a 12-0 start, Meralco quickly raced a 19-point lead, 32-13, late in the first quarter.
But TNT recovered in the second quarter and eventually took control in the fourth, taking a 111-103 lead with 3:32 left in the game.
The Bolts still tried to come back after trimming the lead down to two, 115-113, and even had a chance to force overtime as KJ McDaniels could only make a split from the line with 8.3 seconds left.
But Allen Durham misfired a buzzer-beating triple that could have forced the extension.
McDaniels exploded for 51 points with 10 rebounds, two assists, one steal, and four blocks for TNT, which remained unbeaten at 6-0, virtually assuring the team a spot in the quarterfinals.
RR Pogoy added 23 points, seven rebounds, and two assists, while Jayson Castro put up 21 markers, four rebounds, four assists, and one steal.
Durham came up with 43 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists, two steals, and one block for Meralco, which fell to 3-2.
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