ALLEIN Maliksi bounced back in a big way for Meralco in their PBA Philippine Cup clash against Barangay Ginebra last Sunday.
Maliksi had 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field to lift the Bolts to a 91-73 win over the Gin Kings, earning him the PBA Press Corps-Pilipinas Live Player of the Week honors.
The Meralco hotshot went into the match off a poor performance in the team’s match against NorthPort, in which he only had four points, shot 2-of-10 from the field, and went 0-of-7 from threes.
Against Ginebra, Maliksi was all over, firing four three-pointers that helped the Bolts break the game wide open and dealt the Kings their first defeat in three games.
“We really had confidence in our guys. We know that we are better than that,” said Meralco coach Luigi Trillo, referring to their struggles before the Ginebra game. “There’s a lot of maturity all around from (Maliksi) as one of our leaders.”
With Maliksi taking the cudgels, Meralco snapped a two-game losing skid and improved to 2-3 entering the All-Star and Holy Week break while avoiding a deep hole had it lost another game.
Maliksi, 36, said he never felt discouraged from his struggles in the game against NorthPort.
“Sabi ko, I work hard and prepare myself every day in practice. Eventually, there’s an off night. Sometimes, maganda ‘yung game mo. Just be confident, enjoy the game, and play the right way,” said Maliksi.
