By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
THE championship of the season-ending Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup is going the full route of seven games after the Meralco Bolts staved off defeat last night in Game Six, beating the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings, 98-91, to force a sudden death.
In front of yet another mammoth crowd at the Philippine Arena of 53,642, the Bolts kept their title hopes alive with a gutsy showing against a determined champions Kings who were eager to finish the affair.
Meralco got off to a strong start, highlighted by hot shooting from beyond the arc, particularly by Reynel Hugnatan and Garvo Lanete.
They raced to a 29-17 lead after the first 12 minutes.
Barangay Ginebra opened the second quarter with a 7-0 blast, sparked by the entry of veteran Mark Caguioa, to slice its deficit to five, 29-24, in the first few minutes of the frame.
The Bolts, however, would regroup, answering with a torrid 15-0 run of their own, led by import Allen Durham, to extend their lead to 20 points, 44-24, with five minutes remaining.
Justin Brownlee tried to rally the Kings back but the Bolts met their challenge head-on the rest of the period to maintain a safe distance of 54-37 by the halftime break.
Barangay Ginebra once again got off to a rousing start in the third frame, outscoring Meralco, 20-9, to narrow its deficit to six points, 63-57, with four minutes remaining.
Mr. Lanete though would give Meralco more breathing space, 68-57, with five points in a row at the 4:09 mark of the canto.
The third-quarter smoke cleared with Meralco still holding a lead, 75-69.
In the payoff quarter it was Meralco which got it going at the starting gate, racing to a 10-3 run to establish an 85-72 advantage at the eight-minute mark.
The Kings then went on a 10-3 sprint of their own in the next three minutes to chop the Bolts’ lead to six points, 88-82.
Barangay Ginebra further narrowed the gap, 90-86, after a Caguioa basket with under four minutes remaining.
Meralco would continue to hang on thereafter, holding a seven-point cushion, 93-86, with two minutes left on the clock.Two free throws from Mr. Caguioa pushed the Kings to within five points, 93-88, at the 1:27 mark.
But Mr. Durham would put the game away with a bucket down low to extend their lead to seven, 95-88, and took the victory from there.
Mr. Durham led the way for Meralco with 28 points and 19 rebounds while Mr. Hugnatan finished with 24 points and seven rebounds.
Mr. Lanete had 15 points, going 6-of-11 from the field.
For Barangay Ginebra it was Mr. Brownlee who was the lead man with 23 points and nine boards.
Greg Slaughter had 18 while LA Tenorio and Scottie Thompson had 12 each.
“We had to fight it out up to the end. Our battle cry tonight was to play on Friday to give ourselves a chance. And I’m happy the players responded to it,” said winning coach Norman Black.
He went on to say that they hope to do it one more time come Game Seven on Friday also at the Philippine Arena.