Anjo Caram drops career-high 30 as Meralco clinches twice-to-beat

Anjo Caram came up with a career-best outing as he helped Meralco clinch a twice-to-beat advantage for the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup playoffs through a 103-89 conquest of NorthPort, Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

The diminutive point guard dropped 30 points on 73-percent shooting from the field including four treys, one of which capped off an 11-0 run that turned the Bolts’ five-point lead to a 101-85 edge with 1:14 left to put the game away.

Caram also had four steals, two rebounds, and a block in the 29 minutes and 45 seconds he graced the floor.

“Anjo was just awesome tonight. He really gave us a big lift and pretty much guided us to this victory,” lauded coach Norman Black. “He was making shots all over the court. I give him a lot of credit for leading the team.”

Allen Durham was a rebound short from a 20-20 outing as he had 26 points and 19 rebounds, while Chris Newsome added 17 in the win that hiked the Bolts’ record to 8-2 and enabled them to clinch a twice-to-beat edge for the quarters.

“We wanted to get that twice-to-beat advantage to have that slight advantage going to the playoffs,” Black said.

Baser Amer has returned to the Orangemen after missing their 92-74 win over the Columbian Dyip last Friday due to a groin injury. He played for 18 minutes and 15 seconds and had two points, four assists, and a rebound.

Import Michael Qualls finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds to lead NorthPort, who have fallen to 3-6.

Christian Standhardinger had 20 points and nine rebounds while Sean Anthony added 19 markers and eight dimes.

Meralco will face Rain or Shine (3-7) for their last game of the eliminations next Sunday, November 17, while NorthPort takes on league leader NLEX (8-1) on Wednesday, November 13. Both games are at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.

The Scores:

Meralco 103 – Caram 30, Durham 26, Newsome 17, Almazan 8, Pinto 8, Maliksi 6, Faundo 4, Hugnatan 2, Amer 2, Quinto 0, Jackson 0, Jose 0, Hodge 0, Jamito 0.

Northport 89 – Qualls 27, Standhardinger 20, Anthony 19, Mercado 9, Lanete 8, Taha 3, Ferrer 3, Elorde 0, Cruz 0, King 0, Escoto 0.

Quarterscores: 20-23, 50-45, 72-69, 103-89.