Meralco carried on with its late push, winning its third straight game at the expense of Rain or Shine, 91-82, to stay in the hunt for a quarterfinal berth in the 2018 Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.
“‹The Bolts used a strong fourth-quarter push to take the game down the stretch.
Allen Durham paced Meralco with a game-high 19 points.
While Durham’s production was expected, Mike Tolomia’s was a revelation. He came off the bench to score 17 points and added six assists to help the Bolts.
Meralco enhanced improved its chances of making the top eight as it moved up to 4-6 in ninth place.
This second straight defeat was a big blow for Rain or Shine as it dropped to a 3-6 record for 10th place.
Five straight points from Durham midway the fourth period started a key run from the Bolts.
A triple from Tolomia with 4:30 remaining completed a pivotal 8-0 run that gave Meralco a key 82-74 lead.
Several minutes later, Durham’s basket in traffic with just 1:53 left gave the Bolts a safer double-digit lead, 90-77, heading to the final minute.
At that point, it was already a 16-3 surge from Meralco.
That proved to be the dagger as the Elasto Painters were unable to have an answer as the Bolts’ critical blitz was the difference.
The first three quarters were a seesaw battle with both teams exchanging punches and leads.
The protagonists found themselves tied at 65 through three quarters.
No team was able to gain any significant advantage for most part.
Rain or Shine missed the services of big men Raymund Almazan and Beau Belga.
Norbert Torres led Rain or Shine with his team-high 16 markers.
The scores:
Meralco 91 – Durham 19, Tolomia 17, Hodge 14, Newsome 12, Caram 11, Hugnatan 10, Salva 4, Amer 2, Jamito 2, Ballesteros 0.
Rain or Shine 82 – Torres 16, Watson 14, Nambatac 13, Daquioag 10, Ponferada 7, Ahanmisi 7, Yap 7, Norwood 6, Borboran 2.
Quarters: 19-19, 44-43, 65-65, 91-82.
