Allen Durham and Reynel Hugnatan helped the Meralco Bolts avoid a deep 0-3 hole in the 2017 Governors’ Cup Finals as they outdueled Barangay Ginebra in Game Three, 94-81, Wednesday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The best-of-seven series is now 2-1, and the Bolts will have a chance to tie the series on Game Four this Friday, October 20, 7:00 PM still at the Big Dome.
Durham powered the Bolts with 38 points — 13 in the fourth — and 20 rebounds. But this time, he finally got the support he badly needed as Hugnatan provided 22 points on a scorching-hot seven triples off the bench.
“The game becomes a lot easier if you can make shots, if you can knock down your outside shots,” said coach Norman Black. “A lot of credit goes to Reynel Hugnatan who stepped up and made a lot of threes for us today.”
The Bolts were down by a field goal, 75-77, with 6:04 in the payoff period, but a rousing 11-0 run — capped by Durham’s three-point play conversion — lifted them to a nine-point advantage, 86-77, with 2:47 remaining.
LA Tenorio hit a triple on the other end to cut the deficit, but Durham’s lay-up and a booming three-pointer from the right corner by Jared Dillinger sent Meralco to a 91-80 cushion — more than enough to put the Barangay away for good.
“Our defense was pretty solid, just like it was last game. But the difference is we played the defense for 48 minutes instead of just 44,” added Black on the victory.
Justin Brownlee was limited to 15 points on a dismal 7-of-20 shooting alongside 11 boards and a game-high five blocks to lead Ginebra. Tenorio and Japeth Aguilar each scored 14, while Greg Slaughter chipped in 12 markers.
The Orangemen shot 38 percent from the field, but their shots from beyond the arc have finally improved as they knocked down 11 triples. Their defense, meanwhile, forced Ginebra to 19 turnovers and converted it to 15 points.
The series-extending win may have brought the Bolts on a high, but their bid of claiming the Governor’s Cup throne to the Gin Kings suffered a major blow as veteran forward Ranidel De Ocampo strained his left calf muscle.
The 35-year-old hurt his calf with just three minutes and 35 seconds into the game and never returned.
“It’s gonna be tough going forward, especially with Ranidel being out,” admitted Black. “But at the same time, we still have some guys that are out there fighting. We’ll go to war with them and we’ll do the best we can.”
The Scores:
Meralco 94 – Durham 38, Hugnatan 22, Dillinger 9, Lanete 8, Caram 7, Newsome 7, Hodge 3, Amer 0, De Ocampo 0, Faundo 0, Tolomia 0.
Ginebra 81 – Brownlee 15, Tenorio 14, Aguilar J. 14, Slaughter 12, Thompson 10, Devance 8, Caguioa 8, Mercado 0, Ferrer 0.
Quarterscores: 21-21, 46-47, 66-64, 94-81.
