Meralco in early spark

ANTIPOLO CITY — Meralco fended off a hot-shooting Columbian Dyip, 109-106, to open its Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup campaign on a winning note last night at the Ynares Sports Center.

With the game knotted at 106-all in the last minute, Baser Amer nailed a go-ahead basket for a 108-106 Meralco separation before Allen Durham preserved the lead with an important rebound in the last two seconds.

Dyip actually had a chance to force overtime with Durham’s split charities but Roider Cabrera missed a game-tying triple at the buzzer en route to Meralco’s slim victory.

With the win, back-to-back Governors’ Cup runner-up Meralco notched a quick 1-0 win-loss slate to kick off its bid of a third straight Finals appearance in a row.

“It was a tough win. Columbian played well in this game. Our first half was a little bit shaky. JBU