Bolts get lift from Durham, outlast Fuel Masters

Games Saturday (MOA Arena)

3 p.m. – Blackwater vs NLEX

5:15 p.m. – Ginebra vs Globalport

MANILA, Philippines – The Meralco Bolts, drawing tremendous boost from import Allen Durham whom coach Norman Black dubbed “a thoroughbred,” stung the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 108-103, in the opener of the 2016 PBA Governors Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Friday night.

Durham, Barako Bull’s import replacement in the same tourney in 2014, churned out an overpowering performance in his PBA comeback, piling up 32 points, 22 rebounds and five assists to lead the Bolts past the Phoenix side under returning PBA coach Ariel Vanguardia.

The Bolts actually squandered a 15-point third-quarter lead but preserved the win as Durham imposed his will in the homestretch.

“I don’t want to call anybody a horse but he’s our thoroughbred. He’s a throwback to the old days. He can score, he can rebound, he’s a good teammate, he’s a willing passer,” said Black of their prized import.

“He reminds me of Billy Ray Bates, Bobby Parks and David Thirdkill. He’s really a solid player and he has a great attitude that is hard to find in an import. He’s a very good package. Our offense and defense will go through him in the entire conference,” Black also said.

Providing some help was Iranian import Mohammad Jamshidi although he struggled with a 1-of-6 field goal shooting as he suited up with the Bolts just a day after his arrival in the country. He added 7-of-10 charities for a total of nine points.

“We didn’t have a chance to practice with him. We utilized the Araneta parking court before the game to run the plays for him. We kept it as simple as possible,” said Black.

Old reliables Jimmy Alapag, Jared Dillinger, Cliff Hodge and Chris Newsome contributed double-digit outputs as the Bolts got off to a triumphant start in the tourney coming from a sorry exit in the Commissioner’s Cup.

Also with a solid import in Arinze Onuaku, the Bolts set the pace most of the mid-season tourney but crumbled in a deciding Game Five duel with the Alaska Milk Aces in the semifinals.

“It’s a good start for us today, very good actually. We had control at halftime but came out lax in the second half,” said Black in blowing away a 15-point spread then going to a grind in the fourth quarter.

Marcus Simmons, Josh Urbiztondo, Willy Wilson and new recruit Simon Enciso stood at the forefront of their attack as the Fuel Masters waged a chase and pulled even at 81 at the start of the final period.

The Bolts were nursing a one-point lead at 101-100 when Durham made back-to-back clutch baskets to pad their lead to five with time down to 43 seconds.

First, Durham trailed a driving Anjo Caram and jammed in the latter’s missed layup off Simmons. In their next offensive thrust, Durham finished a fastbreak play off a pass by Jamshidi.

Alapag had a good start at point guard spot, sizzling with a remarkable 4-of-5 three-point shooting, and finished with 15 markers, six assists and three rebounds.

The former Gilas skipper is now only 33 treys away from tying Allan Caidic's all-time league high of 1,242.

The Fuel Masters were paced by Simmons with 21 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and two steals against four errors. Korean import Hee Lee Gwan was utilized for 13:56 minutes and produced seven markers, five boards and one dish-off.