Meralco trumps Alaska in tune-up

CLIFF Hodge of Meralco (left) fishes a foul from Alaska’s Calvin Abueva in last night’s knockout semifinal match. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

Meralco triumphed over the Alaska, 106-92, in a tune-up game Wednesday at Gatorade Hoops Center in the two teams’ preparation for the upcoming PBA Governors’ Cup campaigns.

Import Allen Durham finished with 29 points to lead Meralco, while Cliff Hodge added 20.

LeDontae Helton and Vic Manuel had 23 and 19 points, respectively, to lead the Aces.

Despite the win, Durham said the Bolts need to keep on improving with the real games expected to be tougher.

“Today we were playing really hard. When we play them in the conference, I know they’re going to come back hard, so this don’t really mean nothing to us. We got to keep on improving,” said Durham.

“Last time we played here, we lost by 30 points against them in the tune-up. The thing that we brought in was respect for the team,” said Meralco assistant coach Luigi Trillo, noticing the improvements of his team.

Durham’s jump shots and rebounds made a huge difference in the game’s output.

“Our weakness in the last tournament was rebounding and picking up the tempo, but we feel confident. We got good character all around,” said Trillo.

The import also noted the harmonious relationship within the group.

“When we play, everybody’s happy to make the extra pass, give that guy open shots. Anytime you have a team like that, you’re bound to do some good things,” said Durham. Mikaela Calilong/Philippine Daily Inquirer trainee