Bolts beat Painters, spoil Yap’s historic night

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

ANTIPOLO—Meralco shook off its early struggles to rally past Rain or Shine, 89-73, and stay undefeated in the 2017 PBA Governors’ Cup Saturday night at Ynares Center here.

Allen Durham scored 23 points and coralled 23 rebounds with eight assists to boot for the Bolts, who went on a 30-point turnaround after falling behind by as much as 14 in the first quarter.

“We got off to a very poor start on the offensive side of the court. We were really turning the basketball over which was leading to points for them,” said Meralco head coach Norman Black.

“We came out really aggressive in the second half.”

Meralco, which joined NLEX atop the standings with a 3-0 record, ruined James Yap’s momentous night.

Yap, the Rain or Shine swingman, reached 10,000 career points. He came into the game needing only three points to hit the mark and finished with seven points on 3-of-13 from the field.

Jared Dillinger added 16 points for the Bolts including the go-ahead triple, 61-58, late in the third quarter. He went 4-of-8 from downtown and also had two steals.

JD Weatherspoon tallied 19 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks for the Elasto Painters (1-2), who raced to a 21-7 lead in the first quarter.

The 35-year-old Yap joined the elite 10,000-point club after hitting a 3-pointer from the left corner with 49.3 seconds left.