John Paul Erram of Blackwater gets an elbow from a driving Eugene Phelps of Phoenix in Sunday’s PBA match at Smart Araneta Coliseum —AUGUST DELA CRUZ
Save for a momentary lapse early in the second half on Sunday night, Meralco was a well-oiled machine and remained unscathed in the PBA Governors’ Cup eliminations as Allen Durham scored a triple double that keyed a 112-97 win over KIA Picanto at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Durham finished with 25 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds and the Bolts scooted away from the overmatched Picanto late in the first period to rise to 4-0.
They stayed on track for a target coach Norman Black set on his Bolts right from the beginning.
“We want to get in the top four to get a twice-to-beat advantage in the first round of the playoffs,” said Black, who had three locals also scoring in twin digits. “We did relax a little bit, but for the most part, I thought we played very, very well.”
The loss was the fourth straight for the Picanto, who got 20 points from Markeith Cummings and 17 from Reden Celda.
Chris Newsome scored 11 points in the first period and finished with 19, and his exploits in the opening frame fueled the Meralco breakaway.
In the first game, import Henry Walker fired 14 of his 32 points in the fourth period and helped the Elite upset Phoenix Petroleum, 92-86.
Mike DiGregorio finished with 28 to make it a double-barreled attack for the Elite, who won for the first time in four games and are suddenly looking promising even with franchise player Mac Belo still not in the groove and prolific sophomore Art Dela Cruz remaining sidelined.
“Our import gave us the inspiration,” Blackwater coach Leo Isaac said in praise of Walker, an NBA veteran who saw action for Alaska and NLEX in the past.
BLACKWATER 92 – PHOENIX 86
BLACKWATER 92—Walker 32, Digregorio 28, Gamalinda 9, Canaleta 5, Aguilar 5, Erram 4, Cruz 3, Miranda 3, Sumang 3, Belo 0, Banal 0, Cervantes 0, Sena 0, Pascual 0.
PHOENIX 86—Phelps 13, Jazul 13, Borboran 12, W. Wilson 11, Alolino 10, Baguio 8, Intal 8, Eriobu 7, Dehesa 2, Kramer 2, Lanete 0, J. Wilson 0.
Quarters: 23-32, 51-47, 66-66, 92-86
MERALCO 112 – KIA 97
MERALCO 112—Durham 25, Newsome 19, Amer 17, Lanete 14, Caram 8, Dillinger 8, Nabong 7, Hugnatan 6, Chua 4, Faundo 4, Hodge 0, Daquioag 0, Sedurifa 0.
KIA 97—Cummings 20, Celda 17, Khobuntin 13, Yee 11, Nimes 8, Corpuz 8, Revilla 6, Deutchman 5, Paniamogan 4, Camson 3, Ballesteros 2, Elorde 0, Teng 0, Salva 0.
Quarters: 26-15, 57-41, 82-66, 112-97