GAME 5 PBA SEMIS | MERALCO VS TNT | FULL GAME COURT SIDE HIGHLIGHTS | December 23, 2019

MERALCO took care of one unfinished business. It now has all the time in the world to prepare for another, more pressing concern. With Allen Durham again getting the much-needed help from his teammates the Bolts outplayed the TNT KaTropa 89-78 Monday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo to advance to the finals of the PBA Governors' Cup. Durham had a near-triple double of 28 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists but the support from the likes of Chris Newsome, Bong Quinto and Allein Maliksi proved essential as Meralco wrapped up the best-of-five series 3-2. The Bolts now take on Barangay Ginebra in the best-of-seven championship series that starts Jan. 8 also at the Big Dome in a reprise of their similar 2016 and '17 titular showdowns which the Kings both won. Both protagonists would have liked to have had Chapter 3 last year, but Meralco got booted out by Alaska and Ginebra by eventual champion Magnolia Ang Pambansang Manok in the semifinals. "I feel like we really had everything thrown at us. But everybody was focused ... to get back to the championship round again," said an obviously relieved Bolts coach Norman Black. KJ McDaniels led everybody with 30 points and 13 rebounds and Bobby Ray Parks had his own double-double of 15 and 10. After their slow starts Jayson Castro and Troy Rosario also breached the double digit-barrier with 11 and 10, respectively. Roger Pogoy also had 10 points, but only two in the last three quarters in a performance that eerily mirrored that of TNT. After leading by 42-35 late in the second quarter, the KaTropa suddenly turned cold at about the same time the Bolts got hot, enabling the latter to wrest control right in the third period. Maliksi and Newsome were foremost among those who lent support to Durham in that stretch by combining for 13 points and complementing their import's 10 markers. Those were enough to give Meralco a 66-61 lead, but Quinto and Newsome were far from done. Quinto's career-high 19 points were highlighted by the eight points he strung up to start the fourth quarter that stretched the Bolts' lead before Newsome took over lacing his 23-point performance with back-to-back drives that pegged the game's biggest difference at 84-68. McDaniels, Castro and Rosario came up with some points in the stretch, but all they could do was narrow the gap somewhat. It is a sad season ending for TNT, which wound up second in the mid-season Commissioner's Cup and was hoping to at least book a return trip to the finals this time around. Following an 83-95 loss in Game 4 last Saturday, the KaTropa did make their expected adjustments with the most noteworthy being to start David Semerad as main matchup to Durham. The ploy did work, but only for a time. (NC) The scores: Meralco 89 - Durham 28, Newsome 23, Quinto 19, Maliksi 11, Hodge 3, Caram 3, Amer 2, Almazan 0, Faundo 0, Salva 0, Pinto 0, Jackson 0, Jamito 0, Jose 0. TNT 78 - McDaniels 30, Parks 15, Castro 11, Pogoy 10, Rosario 10, Semerad 2, De Leon 0, Reyes 0, Washington 0, Vosotros 0. Quarters: 22-23, 37-42, 66-61, 89-78 ________________________________________________________________ Salamat sa panunuod mga TSONG and Tsang! wag kalimutang mag subscirbe para updated kayo sa mga latest sports news. * Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. * Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. * No copyright infringement intended. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS #PBAupdates #PBASEMIS #SportsTVph