Allen Durham finally showed the true identity of the masked man.
Durham wasn’t himself in his first two games after sporting a black mask to protect a broken nose he suffered three weeks ago, but on Wednesday, the bull-strong forward got his game back.
“It’s getting a lot better, definitely getting better with the mask, so I’m happy we get a win. Coach just told me to stay aggressive no matter how uncomfortable it is,” said Durham after Meralco’s wire-to-wire win over Rain or Shine.
The 28-year-old Durham played true to form, finishing with 32 points, 12 rebounds and five assists with a couple of steals and blocks to boot after averaging just 15.5 points in his last two games where the Bolts went 0-2.
“I wear mask in practice as well because I don’t to get into any accident. It’s getting better, so hopefully I can take the mask off soon and talk to the doctor and see what they say.”
Durham also said wearing a mask is new to him but hopes it won’t take long before he gets to play without it.
“This is my first time, I have not encountered no serious injury up until now, knock on wood, hopefully this will heal up and everything will be back to normal.”
With Durham back to his old self, Meralco was able to snap a two-game skid.
“We gotta just keep working hard on practice, don’t let anything deter us what we want to do. We got a great team and we gonna keep on pushing forward.”
Asked about his nickname “The Masked Man,” Durham liked his old one better.
“It’s okay, but I prefer the Hulk, the Hulk is better, I’ll keep the one.”