By REYNALD MAGALLON
Jordon Varnado made sure there was no power shortage this time for Meralco, providing the telling blows to get back at Ginebra, 97-88, to arrest a four-game slide in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday, Aug. 14.
Varnado, who was the original import choice but went down with an injury, proved that he was worth the wait as he delivered 31 points in his debut — including a booming four pointer that doused the familiar Kings rally in the final frame.
Ginebra threatened to come back after trailing by as many as 12, cutting the lead down to just three, 78-81, enough to bring the crowd to life with their Ginebra chants.
The Bolts import,who was also solid on the defensive end with six rebounds, three steals and two blocks, had a louder response draining the four pointer to quickly repel the run from the Kings.
Chris Newsome provided support with 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists while Cliff Hodge had 13 points and seven rebounds.
With the win, the Bolts pumped life to their playoff hopes on Group B, improving to a 3-5 record while the Kings slid to a 2-4 slate.
Juan Gomez de Liano finished what import Cameron Clark had started as Converge escaped an all-Filipino NLEX, 112-110, to take a two-game win streak into the break.
Gomez de Liano fired 10 of his 19 points in the last 2:09 of the contest as the FiberXers kept their heads above the water against the rallying Road Warriors, who threatened Converge until the final horn despite playing without an import.
The rookie guard took charge in the waning minutes first draining a booming four to answer Robert Bolick’s own long bomb and put Converge back in the lead, 101-99.
He also had a jump shot and four straight free throws to keep NLEX at bay.
Clark led the scoring for Converge, throwing his weight around the paint to finish with 37 points and 12 rebounds while Justin Arana provided another interior offensive threat with his own 19 points and nine rebounds.
Gomez de Liano added six rebounds and eight assists to his tally as Converge improved to the third spot of Group A with a 5-4 record.
