MERALCO is not keen on rolling out the red carpet for the visiting New Taipei Kings when the two teams lock horns in the EASL Home and Away Season on Wednesday night.
The Bolts and Kings led by former NBA star Jeremy Lin, tangle anew at 7 p.m. at the Philsports Arena, with the home team looking to avenge a close 97-92 loss to the Taipei side a month ago at the Xinzhuang gymnasium.
READ Jeremy Lin, New Taipei Kings in Manila for EASL rematch with Meralco
Lin and the rest of the Kings arrived on Tuesday afternoon, and later, had their first practice in the Pasig playing venue.
But the Bolts are just as ready to face the Kings again.
“We’re excited to play them again. They have a lot of good pieces and are leading our bracket,” said Meralco coach Luigi Trillo. “We have a lot of quality games this coming weeks for our team, and we have to manage that.”
The home team is at the bottom of Group B with a 1-3 record and coming off an 81-80 heartbreaker against the visiting Seoul SK Knights a week ago.
Despite the loss, Meralco remains in contention for the two semifinal berth at stake in its group, as the Knights and Ryukyu Golden Kings are just above them at 2-2, while New Taipei is unbeaten at 2-0 to occupy the top spot.
The 35-year-old Lin will be playing in front of local basketball fans for the first time since suiting up for the Houston Rockets in an NBA pre-season game against Indiana in 2013 at the Mall of Asia Arena, which the Rockets won, 116-96.
Aside from him, another familiar face in the New Taipei roster is Hayden Blankley, who played for the Bay Area Dragons side which finished runner-up behind Barangay Ginebra in the last PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Blankley finished with 15 points on 3-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc when the Kings met the Bolts last Nov. 29.
Trillo rues Bolts lapses
Trillo admitted the Bolts committed too many lapses in their first encounter with the Kings.
“We did not do a good job defensively. Too many breakdowns that allowed them to get the shots they wanted,” said the Meralco coach. “Taipei Kings also hammered us on transition threes and offensive rebounds, so we have to be better with that.”
He also hopes Filipino basketball fans will show up to cheer Meralco on.
“Sana our kababayans can support us tomorrow,” Trillo added.
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