Meralco escapes late Magnolia scare

Games Tuesday:

(Smart Araneta Coliseum)

5 p.m. --- Blackwater vs Rain or Shine

7:30 p.m. --- NorthPort vs TNT

Meralco survived a late scare for a 99-94 escape over Magnolia in Group A of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Bolts breathed a sigh of relief after Hotshots import Glenn Robinson III’s four-point shot with time winding down hit the back of the rim as returning reinforcement Allen Durham sealed the win with a pair of free throws with 2.6 seconds left.

The Philippine Cup champion Meralco secured the victory despite missing key players Allein Maliksi and Raymond Almazan.

“We just had to find a way. We only had maybe six practices and two tune-up games so we know we’re a little bit rusty,” Bolts coach Luigi Trillo said.

"But I think this team is also a veteran team. AD has been with us for a long time. We know he’s just having his feet warm but he’s up to the task of finding ways.”    

Durham finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds in his first game back for Meralco since 2019. Chris Banchero added 14 points highlighted by the first-ever four-point shot made while Chris Newsome and Jolo Mendoza made 13 markers each.

Cliff Hodge had 12 for the Bolts.  

Meralco used a strong third quarter outing to build significant separation that went up as high as 13 after Jolo Mendoza nailed a trey for an 80-67 lead with 9:57 left in the game.

But Magnolia refused to waive the white flag and mounted a huge rally to close in, 96-94, after Robinson sank a triple with 19.2 ticks left.      

The Hotshots had an opening to steal the game after Newsome split his charities. But Robinson bricked his long bomb over the outstretched hand of Newsome as Durham grabbed the board.    

Banchero made history after knocking down the first-ever four-point shot. Down by one in the second quarter, Banchero let loose the long bomb from the right elbow of the 27-foot four-point line that kissed the bottom of the bottom of the net to put the Bolts up, 20-17, with 10:27 left.

Magnolia took the lead back only for Meralco to unleash a stirring closing run which included a pull-up four-pointer from Jolo Mendoza with 1:05 left in the first half to tie the game at 39.

The Bolts added four more points for a 43-39 advantage at the break.

Robinson posted 29 points and 11 rebounds, Ian Sangalang had 17 while Paul Lee, who scored Magnolia’s only four-point shot made, got 14 markers for the Hotshots.