PBA: Meralco pushes TNT KaTropa to a deciding Game 5

By Jonas Terrado

Game Monday
(Ynares Center)
7 p.m. — Meralco vs TNT KaTropa
(Series tied 2-2)

ANTIPOLO CITY — Meralco pushed its PBA Governors’ Cup semifinal series with TNT KaTropa to a deciding fifth game after producing a 95-83 win Saturday night at the Ynares Center here.

Allen Durham had 36 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in another dominant display as the Bolts overcame a bad start to reduce the series to a one-game showdown for the right  to face Barangay Ginebra San Miguel for the title.

Baser Amer and Chris Newsome also scored in double figures while Cliff Hodge atoned for his part in a major blunder late in Game 3 with vital contributions on both ends.

“I’m proud of the way my boys responded under pressure,” said Meralco coach Norman Black.

The do-or-die duel is set Monday in this city to cap off the calendar year, with one team having to endure some Christmas blues while the other moving on to prepare for the best-of-seven Finals which begins Jan. 8.

The Bolts prevailed despite committing six turnovers after the opening tip and allowing the KaTropa to race to a 17-4 start. Roger Pogoy and Troy Rosario combined for 11 during that stretch.

But Durham, with help from rookie Bong Quinto, John Pinto and Allein Maliksi, were able to slowly chip away at the TNT lead before going into halftime in front 51-45.

And unlike in Game 4 when they lost an 11-point lead early in the third, the Bolts never wavered despite multiple KaTropa attempts at an uprising.

Durham made 23 in the third and fourth periods, including a stretch where he continued to dominate Rosario with baskets inside the post.

Hodge, who Durham thought was in the game when he made a costly error in the dying seconds of Game 3, redeemed himself with his hustle plays to produce four points and seven rebounds for a +/- rating of 22.

Amer had 12 points and seven assists, Newsome put in 10 points and nine rebounds while Quinto, Pinto and Maliksi combined for 19 even as Raymond Almazan, who had three turnovers in that lousy start, recovered to contribute eight points and six boards.

Import KJ McDaniels posted 26 points and nine rebounds but TNT fell short in its first crack of making the finals for the second straight conference.

The KaTropa also dealt with foul trouble endured by Pogoy, Rosario and rookie Ray Parks Jr.

The scores:

MERALCO 95 — Durham 36, Amer 12, Newsome 10, Almazan 8, Maliksi 8, Quinto 7, Faundo 4, Hodge 4, Pinto 4, Caram 2, Jose 0, Jamito 0.

TNT KATROPA 83 — McDaniels 26, Rosario 15, Castro 14, Parks 11, Pogoy 11, Reyes 3, De Leon 2, Semerad 1, Digregorio 0, Williams 0, Vosotros 0.

Quarters: 18-24; 51-45; 73-68; 95-83.

Source: Manila Bulletin