MANILA, Philippines – The Meralco Bolts leaned on the marksmanship of Reynel Hugnatan late in the game to survive Barangay Ginebra, 107-103, and register a 2-1 series advantage in the PBA Governors Cup finals at the Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday night.
Best Import awardee Allen Durham spearheaded the Bolts’ offense, finishing with 36 points. Rookie Chris Newsome added 22 to go with Jimmy Alapag’s 18.
Hugnatan — who checked in early in the fourth period — scored the crucial buckets. He was dialed in from distance, knocking down three of his four attempts from beyond the arc in the payoff period.
The longtime Bolt only made 14 three-pointers since 2003, but that all changed in tonight's conquest of the crowd favorites. He finished the game with 17 markers.
Ginebra, for its part, drew production from reinforcement Justin Brownlee, who tallied 42 points. LA Tenorio chimed in 14 points while Japeth Aguilar added 12.
Game 4 is on Friday, also in the Big Dome.
The scores:
MERALCO 107 - Durham 36, Newsome 22, Alapag 18, Hugnatan 17, Hodge 6, Faundo 4, Uyloan 3, Amer 1, Al-Hussaini 0, Nabong 0.
GINEBRA 103 - Brownlee 42, Tenorio 14, Aguilar 12, Thompson 10, Cruz 6, Mariano 6, Devance 5, Mercado 4, Ellis 2, Marcelo 2, Caguioa 0.
Quarterscores: 18-20, 48-44, 71-69, 107-103.