MERALCO teetered on the brink of nearly not reaching the Last Eight of the season-ending tilt. But the Bolts persevered and were rewarded with handsome dividends.
“We got off to a shaky start but that’s where the character is revealed. We were 1-3 and had two solid games, then we were 3-3, then we lost two,” Meralco coach Luigi Trillo said. “Credit to these guys and the coaching staff led by coach Nenad (Vucinic, consultant). He’s done a good job and is solid at what we do.
“We have a lot of vets to talk things over. It’s a testament to what our culture is like. Sometimes when you go through adversities like that it really tests you, but they strengthen you,” he added.
Raring to finish off their foes, the Bolts smothered the NLEX Road Warriors 100-81 last Sunday night in Game 2 of their best-of-3 quarterfinals duel in the PBA Philippine Cup.
The emphatic triumph of No. 3 Meralco over the sixth seed NLEX that came on the heels of a 97-93 win in the first tiff four days ago enabled the Bolts to forge a best-of-7 semifinals clash with Ginebra.
It would not have been possible if not for the Bolts’ stinging defensive game in the second half.
“We kind of let them into the game again (but) in the second half, we locked down in terms of what we needed to do. We just allowed them 31 points … I think it was just that second half where we outplayed them,” Trillo said.
“You saw how close these quarters have been for us. It was just nip-and-tuck.”
Chris Banchero notched a game-high 23 points laced with seven rebounds and six assists for Meralco, while Cliff Hodge chimed in 14 markers, two boards and two dimes.
The likes of Allein Maliksi (14), Bong Quinto (13), Chris Newsome (12), and Raymond Almazan (10) also did their part for the Bolts.
For Banchero, Meralco has what it takes.
“I think we understand that we’re a good enough team to win a championship. That is what we kept telling the guys,” he said. “Even when things do not go our way and you lose a couple of games, you lose two games in a row, three, we understand that we got to play good basketball come playoff time.
“That is what we’re doing right now. It is no secret we got off to a slow start. We have a bunch of vets here. We know that a slow start is not the end of a conference.”
Robert Bolick paced the Road Warriors with 18 points–a far cry from his career-best 48 markers the last time out–on top of three caroms and four feeds.
