MANILA, Philippines – Import Allen Durham dropped 32 points and the Meralco Bolts zipped past the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 109-102, in the 2016 PBA Governors' Cup on Wednesday, August 10 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Bolts, refreshed from the All-Star break, ended a two-game losing skid for a 3-2 record after starting the game on a 16-0 run and never looked back.
"I think it was the first quarter where we got off to a good start that really set the tone of the game," said head coach Norman Black. "We really talked about it in practice because the past couple of games we were off to horrible starts so we wanted to go off to a good start offensively and defensively."
Durham, who grew more comfortable playing with a mask due to his broken nose, also grabbed 12 rebounds, dished out 5 assists with two steals and two blocks. He also had 12 points in that defining opening period.
Five other Bolts finished in double figures with Chris Newsome and Bryan Faundo having 12 points each. Cliff Hodge had 11 markers and 7 boards while Baser Amer and Jared Dillinger each had 10 points.
The final tally was not indicative of just how lopsided the game was as Meralco had control from start to finish, and even led by as much as 26 late in the third.
The Bolts shot 55% from the field overall despite missing 10 free throws, and registered 27 assists. The Painters connected on only 44% of their attempts and were only 6-of-30 from beyond the arc.
Dior Lowhard had 25 points and 8 rebounds for the Painters, who lost their momentum from back-to-back wins before the break and dipped to 2-2.
Jericho Cruz had 15 points off the bench, while JR Quiñahan and Maverick Ahanmisi had 13 and 11 points, respectively. – Rappler.com