Meralco Bolts’ Anjo Karam takes on a Converge defender during the PBA Governors Cup. –PBA Images
Meralco overcame a sluggish start and continued injury woes to outplay Converge, 116-88, on Wednesday to take the lead in Group A en route to the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With Anjo Karam and Alvin Pasaol backing up foreign players Allen Durham and Chris Banchero, the Bolts recorded their fourth win from five games and overtook the TNT Tropang Giga for sole lead in the group.
Article continues after this ad
Cliff Hodge was out for a few weeks with a back injury, along with Alain Maliksi, Raymond Almazan and Aaron Black, but the team still managed to win three straight games.
READ: PBA: Chris Newsome returns from injury for Meralco, finishes with win
Karam scored 11 of his 16 points in the third period and Pasaol added 12 in the second as Meralco gradually rallied from a 15-point first-period deficit to take control of the game.
Article continues after this ad
Durham finished with 27 points, 14 rebounds and six assists, showing that the three-time Best Import award winner is slowly finding his groove.
Meanwhile, Banchero had 24 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Bolts.
READ: PBA: Allen Durham says more needs to be done for him and Meralco
Despite foreign player Scottie Hopson’s 33 points, Converge lost two straight games to finish the first round with a 2-3 record.
Alec Stockton had 13 points, four rebounds and four assists, and JL Delos Santos added 12 points in the loss for Converge.
Hopson led the Fiberexers to a 13-3 early lead and a 23-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Banchero led the Bolts in the second quarter and they headed into the locker room trailing 53-50 at halftime.
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
The subscription was successfully completed.
