By Diego de la Paz
CUBAO, Philippines (Eagle News) – Meralco proved its mettle down the wire, as it pulled off a close victory over Phoenix Petroleum, 108-103, in the opening game of the 2016 PBA Governors’ Cup on Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Allen Durham, who recently played 24 games with NBA Development League team Texas Legends last season, topped all scorers with 32 points, 22 rebounds, and five assists.
Jimmy Alapag and Jared Dillinger each added 15 markers, while Chris Newsome and Cliff Hodge finished with 13 and 12 points, respectively, in a collective effort by the Bolts. Iranian reinforcement Mohammad Jamshidi, who arrived in the Philippines less than 24 hours prior to the game, had nine points in his PBA debut.
Meralco, which fell to Rain or Shine in the Commissioner’s Cup semi-final round, is in pursuit of repeating the same feat in the dual import-laced conference but with a Finals appearance this time around.
Head Coach Norman Black said that his worries about Jamshidi’s late arrival were doused with the incredible adjustment just hours prior to the game. He also admitted that Phoenix proved to be a bit too much, especially when Meralco had a slow start to the second half.
“It’s a good start for us [this conference]. I was a little bit concerned because [Mohammad] Jamshidi just arrived last night and we did not have a chance to practice with him,” said Black. “We tried to utilize the basketball court in the Araneta driveway to teach him as many plays as we could…[and] make it as simple as possible.”
“Luckily, we were able to get out with a win. He was able to contribute.”
Black added: “This was a tough game for us. We thought we had control of the game at halftime. We came out of halftime a little bit laxed, they caught with us right away. They hit three [three-pointers] in a row to even up the basketball game. We steadied the ship a little bit with better defense, but we still have a lot of things to work on as a team.”
Marcus Simmons topped Phoenix with 21 points, with Simon Enciso finishing with 16 points off three made three-pointers and backcourt mate Josh Urbiztondo aiding their cause with 12.
The Fuel Masters lose their first game under newly-installed Head Coach Ariel Vanguardia, who once served as an assistant coach with Tropang TNT in the early 2000s.