By Jay R. Gotera
Saudi Gazette
MANILA — The Meralco Bolts won a close 86-83 victory over the Mahindra Enforcer in the PBA Governors Cup Sunday night to assure themselves of a playoff for the No. 4 spot in the quarterfinals while denying Mahinda the chance for an outright entry into the Top 4.
Meralco and Mahindra ended their elimination round schedules both with a 6-5 win-loss record. Three other teams — NLEX, Alaska and Phoenix — could also finish with the same mark, necessitating a playoff to determine the team that will carry the twice-to-beat advantage.
The Enforcer had three chances of clinching this advantage in the quarterfinals but bungled them all after losing their last three games.
Import Allen Durham led the Bolts with 34 points, including a shot off Aldrech Ramos with 46.5 seconds left that gave Meralco the lead for good at 84-83. Durham also collected 17 boards, three blocks, one steal, and one assist in 39 minutes.
Jared Dillinger added 12 markers and eight rebounds while Chris Newsome chipped in 10 for the Bolts.
Import James White paced Mahindra with 27 points, the last two of which gave the Enforcer the lead, 83-82, with just two minutes remaining after Mahindra had come back from a 13-point hole in the third quarter.
After Durham regained the lead for Meralco with just 46.5 seconds left on the clock, White fired again but missed, giving Meralco a chance to put the game away.
However, after a Meralco timeout, LA Revilla intercepted a pass by Jimmy Alapag and quickly called for time with 11.6 seconds left.
But the Enforcer committed a grievous blunder on the next play as White failed to catch an errant pass by Ramos, who finished with 17 points.
Durham got the ball and was fouled. He then split his charities for the final score.
TNT 115, Star 105
After a slow start, the TNT KaTropa flexed just enough muscle to add more misery to the already-eliminated Star Hotshots, 115-105.
It was the KaTropa’s ninth win in 10 games, firming up their hold on the top spot in the standings. They will face the Barangay Ginebra Kings (7-2) in their final elimination round game on Sept. 18, a match that could decide the top 2 seeds in the quarterfinals.
Larry Fonacier led the KaTropa with 23 points on top of seven boards. Jayson Castro added 21 markers, three rebounds and five assists.
Joel Wright paced Star with 27 points and 17 rebounds. PJ Simon scored 20 markers while Marc Pingris had a double-double 17 points and 11 boards. However, all their efforts went down the drain as Star suffered its eighth loss in 10 games.
Games Wednesday: GlobalPort Batang Pier (3-7) vs. Blackwater Elite (1-8) and Barangay Ginebra (7-2) vs. Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters (5-5).
