By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
One of the best reinforcements the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) ever witnessed just called it a career.
Thank you for the countless battles and great memories, Allen Durham!
After three stints with the Meralco Bolts franchise in the import-laced conference, Durham will officially hang up his jersey and already ended his campaign with the PBA club in their last game of the East Asia Super League (EASL).
Meralco head coach Luigi Trillo posted photos and thanked the veteran import on his social media account during their send-off dinner ceremony.
“Been through so many wars with @kinghulk.7 (Durham’s Instagram handle). Brother, Warrior, True Pro. He will always be a part of the Bolts family,” Trillo posted.
The 36-year-old enforcer will forever be remembered after leading the Bolts to three PBA Governor’s Cup grand finals appearances and became the arch-rival of Justin Brownlee, the resident import of the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, during his heydays.
During their classic battles from 2016-2018, Durham went toe-to-toe with Brownlee but failed to reward Meralco with their ultimate dream of winning the import-laced conference title.
Despite a series of heartbreaks, Durham decided to come back and made one final run with the Bolts in the ongoing PBA Governor’s Cup but again lost at the hands of Brownlee and the Gin Kings in the first round of the playoffs.
Aside from his stints in the PBA, Durham also rendered his services to the Ryukyu Golden Kings in the Japan B. League from 2021-2024.
There, he would win a championship trophy and was hailed as the Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the 2022-2023 season.
As of now, Durham is yet to release an official statement regarding his retirement, but the Meralco management already publicized the recent off-season development on their social media pages.
Thank you, AD! ‘The Bull’ of the PBA!
