Bocaue, Bulacan (CNN Philippines) — The Meralco Bolts extended the series after a 98-91 win over Barangay Ginebra in Game 6 of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup Finals Wednesday evening at the Philippine Arena.
The Bolts forced a decisive Game 7.
Allen Durhan powered Meralco with 28 markers, while Reynel Hugnatan and Garvo Lanete tacked on 24 and 15 points, respectively.
The help from the locals alongside Durham’s 48-minute game was the tonic that the Bolts needed to get past their opposition.
“Everybody stepped up,” Durham said. “They knew this game was do-or-die, and that was exactly how we played.”
It was a predominantly pro-Ginebra crowd, one which set a new PBA attendance record at 53,642 people, but they were silenced by the Meralco Bolts.
It was all Meralco in the first half, repeatedly blasting holes in Ginebra’s defense to carry a commanding 54-37 lead going into the halftime break.
There was little Ginebra could do in the first two quarters, with Durham, Hugnatan, and Lanete already at double digit scoring for the Bolts.
The onus was on Ginebra to switch things up in the second half, and they corrected their lethargic first half performance by outscoring the Bolts in the third frame, 32-21.
But the Bolts held on to carry a 75-69 advantage going into the payoff period.
Ginebra continued on the comeback trail, with Mark Caguioa draining a bucket to trim the deficit to 90-86, with 3:45 left to play.
With the game going down the line, Meralco gobbled up two consecutive offensive rebounds to retain possession and preserve their advantage.
Durham and Hugnatan combined to drive the dagger blows, to force a Game 7 finale to the series.
Justin Brownlee and Greg Slaughter paced Ginebra in the losing effort, 98-91.
Meralco head coach Norman Black beamed with pride over his team’s win, and looked forward to the deciding game.
“The battlecry for my team tonight was just to play on Friday,” Black said. “We just wanted to do whatever we had to do tonight to win this game and give us the chance to do that.”
The Game 7 finale between Barangay Ginebra and the Meralco Bolts is scheduled for Friday at the same venue.
