PBA: Allen Durham flirts with triple-double as Meralco holds off NorthPort behind Q3 blast

Allen Durham just missed out on a triple-double. PBA Images

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--Meralco banked on a third-quarter breakaway before pipping NorthPort, 109-99, in their PBA Governor's Cup game on Sunday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The Bolts sustained their second-quarter brilliance with a 38-17 third quarter to open a 90-66 lead entering the fourth.

"I thought in the third quarter, we were more solid," coach Luigi Trillo said regarding that breakaway.

The Batang Pier crawled back in the final period and drew to within nine, but the Bolts' lead was already insurmountable.

Allen Durham flirted with a triple-double after tallying 34 points on 13-of-18 shooting, 16 rebounds, and nine assists, while Chris Banchero added 23 points, eight rebounds, and one assist for Meralco, which tied TNT on top of Group A with identical 3-1 records.

After dropping 51 points on Terrafirma in their last game, Arvin Tolentino had a relatively quiet 21 points, seven rebounds, one assist, three steals, and one block for NorthPort, which fell to a three-way tie with Magnolia and Converge for third place at 2-2.

William Navarro added 18 points, 11 rebounds, and two assists.

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