MANILA – Meralco Bolts cruised to solo third place in the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup with a 101-77 manhandling of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Allen Durham flirted with triple-double to post 39 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists while Kier John Quinto, Chris Newsome and Raymond Almazan added 13, 11 and 10 markers, respectively.
With the win, the Bolts rose to a 6-2 slate.
The Bolts were in control of the game since the opening period with a 26-15 start on hits from Durham. It went up to 53-32 at the half with Quinto and Newsome finding their shooting touch in the second canto.
The Bolts went on to build its largest lead at 60-32 early in the third on a triple by Newsome.
The Kings tried its best to get back in the match but the Bolts always had a response to maintain a 77-53 lead heading into the fourth.
Ginebra made its last push in the final quarter and was able to come to within 18 points. Meralco, however, went for the kill with triples from Ilonggo Anjo Caram and Quinto and free throws by Almazan. The lead went up to 25 points.
Meanwhile, as the Kings saw its four-game winning run snapped, Justin Brownlee was held to just 18 points to go along with seven rebounds, while LA Tenorio contributed 12 markers. With the loss, the Kings slid down to 5-3.
In the first game, the Alaska Aces kept its flickering playoff hopes alive by notching its second consecutive victory via a 106-99 pounding of the undermanned NorthPort Batang Pier.
After falling behind early in the game, the Aces gained control of the match in the second period for a 53-48 halftime edge that later went up to its largest at 63-50 in the third canto.
The Batang Pier did not easily gave up as they chopped in to the deficit several times with the closest at 97-101 but the Aces was able to seal the win on free throws by Abu Tratter and Vic Manuel.
Manuel and Franko House led the victory with 23 markers apiece as the Aces improved to 3-6 record. Christian Standhardinger posted conference-best 37 points and 16 rebounds as the Batang Pier dropped to 3-5./PN
