Meralco's Trillo hopes import Durham reconsiders decision to retire

MANILA, Philippines -- Meralco Bolts head coach Luigi Trillo said he is happy for Allen Durham as the big man decided to retire from the PBA, but voiced hope that he reconsiders.

News of the hulking 36-year-old’s retirement broke a couple of days ago, following a send-off party by Meralco.

In a message to Philstar.com, Trillo said that Durham wants to spend more time with his children, which prompted him to call it a career.

“He told me he had his moment in Japan when we played Ryukyu. The fans cheering. He said he misses his kids. At this point i think he wants to be with his kids, five and three years old,” the coach said.

Despite this, Trillo underscored that the three-time PBA Best Import still has a lot of fuel left in the tank.

“I hope he reconsiders. He still is young at 36 and I feel can help any organization. [But] happy for him it's his decision,” he added.

Durham and Meralco made the quarterfinals of the PBA Governors’ Cup after finishing as the second seed of Group A play. But they were swept by Barangay Ginebra in the playoffs.

Durham then last played for Meralco in the East Asia Super League on October 16 when they faced the Ryukyu Golden Kings at the Okinawa Arena. The Bolts lost, 77-74, against Durham’s former Japan B.League squad.

“Happy AD got to come back to us and play. Again wish we had two more weeks for him. We opened the season on the first game and we just came of the championship. In my 25 years in PBA that has never happened,” the coach said.

“I think if we had two weeks and started with more practices plus having either CJ [Cansino] or Allein [Maliksi] there as an extra floor spacer to guard the smaller lineups in the playoffs maybe we could have performed better for the Meralco fans and also for AD,” he added.

Trillo looked back at Durham’s career as he stressed that him playing for Meralco was “amazing for both him and the organization.”

“He really spread his wings here. He was best import for 3 years but he would not have also blossomed if not for his teammates and staff helping him grow.”

Aside from Meralco, Durham also played for the Barako Bull Energy in 2014. He led the Bolts to multiple finals stints in the PBA.