Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
Allen Durham unleashed another colossal performance to tow Meralco to an 85-83 Game 4 victory to even up the 2017 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals at two games apiece Friday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The hulking reinforcement muscled his way down low and scored the marginal undergoal stab off a Reynel Hugnatan assist with 46.6 seconds on the clock to capped off another amazing output of 28 points, 18 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks.
“As always, it’s beautiful if it works. Our execution down the stretch was pretty good today, except for that last layup of JD (Dillinger). But everything went pretty smoothly,” said coach Norman Black of the game-winning connection between his veteran forward and the two-time Best Import. “The guys really focused in this time on what we did in the huddle as far as instructions were concerned, unlike in Game 2. And we made some big shots and some big plays down the stretch.”
The Gin Kings still had numerous cracks at the basket, but Sol Mercado muffed his right wing trey, and Justin Brownlee botched his two attempts in the final 26 seconds off the game, none tougher than a missed one-hander at the buzzer which could have forced overtime.
Meralco and Ginebra now go to a virtual best-of-three, with the remaining games to be played at Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan. Game 5 is slated this Sunday.
Chris Newsome added 18 markers, 11 boards, and four dimes, while Hugnatan once again was instrumental in the win as he churned out 14 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.
Sophomore playmaker Baser Amer also came through in the clutch, drilling a confidence-boosting corner trey with 1:16 remaining to give the Bolts the 83-81 lead. He wound up with 11 markers on a 2-of-4
shooting from three, on top of three assists and two boards.
Black said that Meralco really looked at Game 4 as a must-win. “If we go down 3-1, then it would have been very difficult for us to come back.”
But with the two teams now on an even keel, the former Grand Slam-winning mentor can set his sights once again on finishing the “unfinished business” from last season’s campaign.
“It’s just a great win for us to tie the series. That basically means we have at least two games in Philippine Arena now. So that should be very exciting. Big win for our program, big win for the series, to come back and tie them after being down 2-0. It’s a morale-booster for us and we really just have to see what we can do about giving our guys a little bit of rest in practice and making sure that we fix what we did wrong tonight and hopefully execute better in the next game,” said Black.
Brownlee did all he could for Ginebra, firing 34 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, and two steals, while Joe Devance got 15 markers, six boards, four dimes, and two steals in the defeat.
Ginebra fought back from 13-points down in the second half, turning a 63-50 deficit with 3:24 late in the third quarter to a 70-all tie with 7:48 remaining.
Old reliables Mark Caguioa and Jayjay Helterbrand turned back the clock and paired up with Brownlee in staging that huge 20-7 blast abridging the final frames to set up the thrilling finish.
The Scores:
MERALCO 85 – Durham 28, Newsome 18, Hugnatan 14, Amer 11, Hodge 7, Dillinger 2, Caram 2, Faundo 2, Lanete 1, Tolomia 0.
GINEBRA 83 – Brownlee 34, Devance 15, Caguioa 8, Aguilar 7, Slaughter 6, Cruz 4, Thompson 4, Ferrer 3, Helterbrand 2, Tenorio 0, Mercado 0.
Quarters: 17-17, 41-40, 68-63, 85-83.