MANILA – Meralco Bolts caught the San Miguel Beermen flatfooted to score a wire-to-wire 125-99 pounding in the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup last night at the Smart Aranata Coliseum.
Allen Durham tallied triple-double 29 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists while Baser Amer drained four triples and finished with 26 markers.
The Bolts rose to a 5-2 record.
Allein Maliksi made an immediate impact with his new team with 12 points while Chris Newsome, Raymond Almazan and Bryan Faundo chipped in 14, 12 and 10 markers, respectively.
The Bolts jumped to a 30-21 edge on inside hits by Durham and back-to-back treys by Maliksi.
The Beermen rallied to within 42-50 but the Bolts widened it to 64-49 at the half with baskets from Amer.
Meralco continued to pound on the SMB in the second half with Amer connecting from outside and Durham dominating inside. The lead reached its largest at 125-97 on an inside it by Raymon Jamito.
June Mar Fajardo posted double-double 31 points and 13 rebounds while Dezmine Wells added 18 markers before exiting with an injury as the Beermen dropped to 5-3.
In the first game, Magnolia Hotshots regained its winning ways after a 118-103 beating of Columbian Dyip to also snap their three-game losing skid in the process.
The Hotshots broke away from a tight first half as they built a 61-52 halftime edge. The Dyip rallied to within 57-63 but shots from Paul Lee and Romeo Travis gave Hotshots an 88-76 lead.
Magnolia’s lead was trimmed to 100-94 midway in the fourth period before they pulled away for good with Travis converting from inside for its largest lead at 118-101.
Travis flirted with triple-double with 28 points, eight rebounds and six assists as the defending champions Hotshots improved to 4-4 win-loss record./PN
