MANILA — Jordon Varnado delivered a devastating late-game scoring burst to lift the Meralco Bolts past Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings, 97-88, snapping a four-game losing skid in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With Ginebra threatening at 78-81 with three minutes remaining, Varnado seized control of the contest, burying a four-pointer before completing a three-point play. Clifford Hodge followed with another basket as Meralco suddenly widened its advantage to 92-82.
The Gin Kings tried to stay alive behind a basket from Riley Grigsby, but Varnado answered with a three-pointer and later split his free throws to restore the Bolts’ 12-point cushion with under a minute remaining.
Varnado finished with a game-high 31 points while stuffing the stat sheet with six rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks to earn Player of the Game honors.
More importantly, his endgame heroics helped Meralco halt its four-game slide and improve its record to 3-5.
Chris Newsome backed Varnado with 18 points, while Hodge provided a spark off the bench with 13. Kier John Quinto chipped in 10 points for the Bolts.
Grigsby carried Ginebra with 34 points and 10 rebounds, but his production was not enough to prevent the Gin Kings from slipping to 2-4.
Rhon Jay Abarrientos added 21 points for Ginebra, while Japeth Aguilar contributed 13.
Meanwhile, the Converge FiberXers survived a furious challenge from the import-less NLEX Road Warriors, 112-110, to secure back-to-back victories.
Cameron Clark powered Converge with 37 points and 12 rebounds to earn Player of the Game honors as the FiberXers improved to 5-4.
NLEX, playing without injured import DeQuan Jones, remained within striking distance throughout the contest despite going up against Converge’s new reinforcement.
Despite the loss, the Road Warriors completed the first portion of their Governors’ Cup campaign atop Group A with a 7-2 record.
The conference will resume on October 7./PN
