Was it really a failed mission for Allen Durham?
The reigning two-time Best Import had failed to fulfill his promise of giving the Meralco Bolts their first-ever PBA title, all because of the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s heartbreak-causing spell that has now stretched for two years.
“It’s tough. It hurts,” said Durham, whose 24-point, 26-rebound, and nine-assist performance all went down the drain, as he and the vengeful Orangemen lost, 101-96, in Game Seven, Friday night in font of 54,064 at the Philippine Arena.
“We gotta figure out a way to get over this hump,” added the 29-year-old. “Hopefully I can come back next year as we go at it again… I really wanna win with this group of guys.”
As much as he was frustrated with the loss, Durham did not forget to give credit to the now back-to-back Governors’ Cup champs, who started strong and displayed excellent composure when Meralco were giving them a great scare.
“They’re a great team, they kept their foot on the gas,” said the Michigan-native. “Hats off to Ginebra, they played a great game. It was a hard-fought series.”
Futhermore, Durham claimed that he and the Bolts have nothing to be ashamed of despite yet another agonizing end to their season, which saw them become a top seed in the 2017 Governor’s Cup for the first time.
“The guys really don’t have nothing to hang their head about. We fought good. We lost to a good team. We dont have to be ashamed or anything like that,” said Durham, who averaged 28.4 points and 19.4 boards in the series.
And despite the loss, this year’s run was still worth it for Durham.
“Before now, I never played infront of 50,000 plus. That could be another memory that I’ll have until the day I die,” he said, referring to the record-breaking crowd.
“I’d be able to tell my kids about it, so yeah, it’s definitely worth it.’
