By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Welcome back, Allen Durham.
The imposing enforcer will be reuniting with his teammates at the Meralco Bolts as he is set to bolster the squad for the upcoming PBA Governor’s Cup that will kick off this August 2024.
A three-time winner of the PBA Best Import Award, Durham will look to maintain his dominance in the big boys’ league and will aim to bring that one thing he failed to win in the Philippines, a championship trophy.
Durham first arrived with the Meralco franchise during the 2016 PBA season and immediately made an impact when he led the young team to playoff qualification.
His dominant two-way performance was all that former head coach Norman Black needed and was always lauded for his work ethic and great locker-room leadership.
It was Durham who steered Meralco to their first three PBA Finals appearances but lost in all title matches as Justin Brownlee and the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel hindered their plans for the golden trophy.
After the 2019-2020 season, Durham left Meralco and played in the Japan B. League for the Ryukyu Golden Kings.
Durham then spent his last three years with the Ryukyu management and delivered them the 2022-2023 B. League title when they won over the Chiba Jets.
During that grand finals series, Durham was terrific for the Golden Kings and was hailed as the Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP).
This will be a different scenario as Durham will be rejoining a Meralco squad that just came from a historic PBA Philippine Cup championship title campaign.
Seeking their first-ever PBA championship, Meralco embraced playing the underdog role as they took care of the heavy favorites, the San Miguel Beermen, in just six games.
Durham will be teaming up with Chris Newsome, Raymond Almazan, Bong Quinto, Cliff Hodge, Paolo Banchero, Brandon Bates, and Allein Maliksi when he returns with the team next month.
