By Jay R. Gotera
MANILA — The Meralco Bolts smashed the top-seeded TNT KaTropa for a second time, 119-113, on Saturday night in Game 3 of their PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals series Saturday night.
The Bolts thus grabbed a 2-1 lead in their best-of-5 series. They could clinch their first PBA finals appearance in franchise history with another win on Game 4 on Monday.
The two sister teams engaged in a fiery shootout all night long, but Meralco proved deadlier, setting a franchise record for most 3-pointers in a game after going 17-of-28.
Import Allen Durham led Meralco in scoring with 23 points. But it was the explosive trio of Reynel Hugnatan, Jimmy Alapag and Chris Newsome that actually made the biggest difference in the game.
Although more of an inside threat than a long-range gunner, Hugnatan surprisingly nailed five three-pointers out of six attempts, including two straight that gave Meralco the lead for good, 110-109, with less than three minutes left in the game. The athletic power forward finished with 21 points.
Alapag was likewise deadly from beyond the arc, scoring 17 points, including three triples. He thus moved within three triples away of surpassing Allan Caidic’s three-point shooting league record.
Newsome added 16 points, including two highlight-reel dunks in the endgame that energized the Bolts.
Cliff Hodge and Baser Amer added 13 and 12 markers, respectably for the Bolts who played minus injured athletic guard Jared Dillinger.
The result negated another sterling performance from TNT’s Jayson Castro who exploded for a team-high 28 points on top of 10 assists, and two boards in 35 minutes.
Larry Fonacier finished with 20 markers, Ranidel de Ocampo and Kelly Williams added 15 apiece. Import Mychal Ammons and Moala Tautuaa chipped in 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Game Sunday: Barangay Ginebra Kings vs. San Miguel Beermen (Game 4 of best-of-5 semifinals; Ginebra leads 2-1).
