Meralco survives pesky Phoenix to open PBA Governors’ Cup

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Meralco found the right voltage in the end-game and gave Phoenix a jolt for a 108-103 win to open its campaign in the PBA Governors’ Cup Friday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

It was a back-and-forth tirade up until the final two minutes when the Bolts controlled the current and the Fuel Masters were forced to just ride along.

Chris Newsome capped off Meralco’s small 6-0 run in the 2:19 mark with a layup to give the Bolts a 101-97 lead.

Import Allen Durham then put the nail in the coffin with 43 seconds left with a thunderous putback jam after Marcus Simmons blocked Mohammad Jamshidi’s fastbreak layup to give the Bolts a 105-100 lead.

“It was a tough game for us, we thought we had control of the game at halftime, but we came out at halftime a little bit lax,” said Bolts head coach Norman Black.

Phoenix managed to cut the Meralco lead to just one, 56-55, courtesy of a 13-2 run after Simon Enciso and Josh Urbiztondo caught fire from beyond the arc.

Durham had a preposterous double-double of 32 points and 22 rebounds while Jimmy Alapag and Jared Dillinger added 15 points apiece for Meralco.

Simmons led Phoenix with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

New acquisition Cyrus Baguio suited up for Phoenix but did not receive any minutes.