MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Allen Durham’s herculean performance saved Meralco from slipping in a 0-3 hole as the Bolts got back on the winning track with a 94-81 victory over the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in Game 3 of their best-of-7 Governors’ Cup finals at the Araneta Coliseum Wednesday, Oct. 18.

The reigning Best Import scored 13 of his game-high 38 points in the final quarter where the Bolts, who trailed 75-77 with 6 minutes left, pulled through off a game-clinching 19-4 run.

Meralco outscored Ginebra 28-17 in the fourth period. 

Durham was all over the floor as he also had 20 boards, 5 blocks, 4 assists and 2 steals.

Reynel Hugnatan, who averaged just 6 minutes in the first two games, became an unlikely hero for the Bolts as he fired 22 points on a 7-of-12 shooting from beyond-the-arc. 

The Bolts also got their bearings back from three-point distance as they buried 11 of their 31 attempts for a respectable 35 percent clip, a massive improvement from their 22.8 percent average in the first two games.

“The game becomes a lot easier when you make shots. Today, we did a much better job of making our perimeter shots and a lot of credit goes to Reynel Hugnatan who stepped up and made a lot of threes for us today,” said Meralco coach Norman Black. 

Ginebra displayed balanced offense with 5 of its players scoring in double figures but could not find a steady force in the endgame.

Justin Brownlee paced the Gin Kings with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks while LA Tenorio and Japeth Aguilar combined for 28 markers.

Meralco, the top defensive team in the league, displayed its stinginess by forcing Ginebra to have more turnovers (19) than free throw attempts (10).

Game 4 of will be on Friday, Oct. 20, at the Araneta Coliseum. 

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, Aguilar 14, Tenorio 14, Slaughter 12, Thompson 10, Caguioa 8, Devance 8, Ferrer 0

Quarter scores: 23-21, 46-47, 66-64, 94-81. 

 – Rappler.com