PBA: Meralco routs Blackwater

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Meralco got it going early on both ends en route to a 107-78 whipping of Blackwater in the 2017 PBA Governors’ Cup Friday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Baser Amer scored a team-high 20 points on top of eight assists while Allen Durham had 18 points and 21 rebounds for the Bolts, who zoomed to a 32-15 lead after the first 12 minutes and never relented.

“It was exactly the kind of start we’re hoping for. We came out pretty strong defensively,” said Meralco head coach Norman Black. “We were able to pick up some stops in the first quarter and our offense started to click.”

Minus the injured Art dela Cruz and Mac Belo, who is with Gilas Pilipinas for the Jones Cup in Taipei, the Elite couldn’t draw enough offensive support from their locals to back up their import Trevis Simpson.

Simpson had game-high 25 points on 9-of-21 shooting from the field to go along with eight rebounds. Bam Gamalinda was Blackwater’s next best scorer with 10 points.

The Elite fired blanks from downtown, missing all of their 13 attempts. They shot just 35% from the field and were out-rebounded, 64-46.

The Bolts shot 48% thanks to their good ball movement that led to 27 assists.

Garvo Lanete added 15 points, all of which came from long range for Meralco, which nailed 11 3-pointers.

The Bolts stretched their lead to as high as 39, 93-54, early in the fourth quarter.