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[av_heading heading=’Meralco survives last-minute Ginebra fight back for 2-1 lead’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
By Adrian Stewart Co
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MANILA – Reynel Hugnatan came up with crucial triples in the endgame as the Meralco Bolts surged to a 107-103 win over the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings in Game 3 of the 2016 Oppo PBA Governor’s Cup best-of-seven finals on Wednesday at Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
With the Bolts holding on to a slim 92-89 lead late in the period, Hugnatan uncorked back-to-back triples to widen the gap to 98-92. Another corner triple by Hugnatan with just 44 seconds left gave the Bolts a comfortable 105-98 edge.
The Bacolod City, Negros Occidental-native Hugnatan finished with 17 points, nine coming in the final quarter, for the Bolts, which moved to a 2-1 lead in the championship series.
“He (Hugnatan) is actually a pretty good three-point shooter, but I didn’t know that until I started putting the big men through some three-point shooting drills and he ended up number 1 every day,” said Bolts head coach Norman Black.
Reinforcement Allen Durham led the way with 36 points and 19 rebounds, while rookie Chris Newsome and Jimmy Alapag contributed 22 and 18 points, respectively, for the Bolts, which recovered from an 82-79 loss to the Kings in Game 2.
The Bolts had a strong start behind Newsome and Durham for a 13-5 lead. But the Kings quickly retaliated behind Justin Brownlee to tie the count at 15-all before surging ahead at the end of period at 20-18 on baskets by Aljon Mariano.
Both teams went on a tight exchange early in the second frame until the Bolts went on a scoring run behind Jonathan Uyloan, Durham and Clifford Hodge for a 45-38 edge. The Kings, however, trimmed it down to 48-44 at halftime.
The Bolts surged to a 51-44 lead at the start of the third frame on a Newsome triple but the Kings answered with a 13-0 blast to take a 57-51 edge. The Bolts, however, leaned on Newsome and three-pointers from Alapag to hang on to a 71-69 advantage.
The Bolts had another fiery opening in the fourth as it built a 78-69 lead behind Newsome and Durham. The Kings then leaned on Jervy Cruz and Joe Devance to come to within 78-75.
Triples by Alapag and Durham gave the Bolts a 85-79 lead, but after another run by the Kings, Alapag and Hugnatan combined for three triples for a 105-98 edge. The Kings rallied to within 105-103 but free throws by Durham clinched the win for the Bolts.
Brownlee top-scored with 42 points, while LA Tenorio and rookie Earl Scottie Thompson added 14 and 12 points, respectively, for the Kings, which will hope to tie the series in Game 4 on Friday./PN
SCORES
MERALCO 107 – Durham 36, Newsome 22, Alapag 18, Hugnatan 17, Hodge 6, Faundo 4, Uyloan 3, Amer 1, Nabong 0, Al-Hussaini 0
GINEBRA 103 – Brownlee 42, Tenorio 14, Aguilar 12, Thompson 10, Mariano 6, Cruz 6, Devance 5, Mercado 4, Marcelo 2, Ellis 2, Caguioa 0
QUARTERS – 18-20, 48-44, 71-69, 107-103
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