Import Allen Durham, as well as Baser Amer and Chris Newsome, have been the usual providers for Meralco. But this 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup has seen the team get itself some extra weapons.
Earlier in the conference, the Bolts have been blessed with the presence of 6-foot-8 big man Raymond Almazan — a presence for which they’ve been searching for a long time now.
The Orangemen have gotten solid contributions as well from rookie forward Bong Quinto, who has evolved into a floor-spacer with his much-improved outside shooting.
Add to that the fact that they have also acquired veteran gunslinger Allein Maliksi and sophomore bruiser Raymar Jose via trade with the Blackwater Elite just a few weeks ago.
Then on Sunday evening, as Meralco took on the NorthPort Batang Pier, six-year pro Anjo Caram balled out.
The 5-foot-7 guard exploded for a career-high 30 points — after scoring just 31 in their first nine games in the tilt — on 73-percent shooting from the field to lead the Bolts to a 103-89 victory.
“I see Anjo work hard in practice every day so I know he’s definitely capable of it,” lauded Durham of Caram, whose previous career-best was 16.
“He definitely stepped up for us tonight.”
The Bolts have been flaunting their newly-acquired depth in this tilt. For Durham, he believes that this has been the most talented team he’s had since joining Meralco in 2016.
“I think so. We have more scorers and then obviously, Almazan and Allein and all that stuff. Everybody’s playing with another level of confidence and another level of maturity,” said the Wyoming, Michigan-native.
The two-time Best Import added that having that amount of talent around him makes his job a lot easier.
“It’s a lot easier. I’m not forced to do so much. Everybody else is fully capable of handling the load. Like we saw tonight, it was Anjo who carried us,” said the 31-year-old Durham.
“Any given night, that could be anybody. I think we’re in a good position.”
