MANILA, Philippines — Naitabla pa lamang ng Meralco ang kanilang best-of-five semifinals series ng TNT Katropa at malayo pa ang labanan, ayon kay coach Norman Black.
“It’s not over at this point, just the second game,” wika ng one-time PBA Grand Slam champion mentor matapos ang 114-94 pananaig ng kanyang Bolts kontra sa Tropang Texters sa Game Two kamakalawa sa 2019 PBA Governor’s Cup.
“But we had to win this game to tie the series up. We knew if we went down 0-2 it would be very tough to come back from that,” dagdag pa nito.
Hangad maitayo ang 2-1 abante, lalabanan ng Meralco ang TNT Katropa sa Game Three ngayong alas-7 ng gabi sa Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Bumangon ang Bolts mula sa 94-103 pagkatalo sa Tropang Texters sa Game One para itabla sa 1-1 ang kanilang semifinals showdown.
Sa nasabing panalo ng Meralco sa Game Two ay humakot si import Allen Durham ng triple-double mula sa kanyang tinapos na 44 points, 19 rebounds at 11 assists.
“We had a lot more energy, we played a lot more physical than we did in Game One, and we executed a lot better on offense, particularly in the first half,” wika ni Black.
Humataw naman si import KJ McDaniels ng game-high na 51 points sa panig ng TNT Katropa habang may 12 markers si No. 2 overall pick Bobby Ray Parks Jr.
Inaasahang babawi sina Jayson Castro na nalimitahan sa 7 points at RR Pogoy na hindi nakaiskor sa kabuuan ng laro.