Atonement game

ANTIPOLO—Allen Durham committed perhaps one of the most comical errors at the most inopportune time in Meralco’s Game 3 duel with TNT late Thursday night, throwing a pass for a potential game-tying triple to what he thought was an open Cliff Hodge. Except that Hodge, benched in that play, was merely cheering his teammates on from the sidelines.

The turnover sealed TNT’s win and put Meralco’s hand on the exit doorknob.

Less than 48 hours later, the Bolts took their hand of that knob and moved within a step of a Finals slot in the PBA Governors’ Cup.

And they did it with Durham playing like he had a lot to atone for.

Durham fired 36 points, lifting Meralco out of a double-digit deficit in the second half and then pounding they key baskets late in the games as the Bolts secured a 95-83 over TNT in Game 4 on Saturday at Ynares Center to push their semifinal series into a knockout match.

“I never talked to [Allen] or Cliff [Hodge] about what happened last game,” said Meralco coach Norman Black. “My feeling is it’s over, so we can’t bring it back so just move on to the next game.”

Durham also had 13 rebounds, but it was his scoring that mattered most as he helped give the Bolts needed separation early in the fourth quarter. And when Troy Rosario put TNT within five, 80-75, late in the game, Durham and Baser Amer helped ice the game.

“A lot of people didn’t want to lose, especially Allen Durham,” Black told reporters after steering the Bolts closer to a championship rematch with old tormentor Barangay Ginebra, which advanced to the Finals on Friday night.

Neither did Hodge, who was more than just a sideline cheerleader in Game 4.

“He certainly contributed a lot tonight to our cause,” Black said of Hodge, who made his presence felt with seven boards.

But more importantly, Black commended his charges for a better showing on defense this time out.

“Our defense really held up tonight, unlike last game in the third quarter where we gave up five three-point shots,” he said. “That was really one of the keys tonight.”

TNT managed to keep it close down the stretch behind KJ McDaniels, who finished with 26 points, and the local pair of Ray Parks Jr. and Roger Pogoy, who each had 11.

After Rosario, who finished with 15 points, drilled a triple to keep TNT within five, Durham hit back-to-back layups to stretch the lead to nine.

“I’m really proud of the way my players responded tonight under pressure,” Black said.

“So far this series has been a game of adjustments, and obviously TNT won the first game so they’ve been a little bit ahead,” he added.

“Now we just have to figure out what to do in Game 5 and how we can adjust to make sure we can get a victory.” INQ