MERALCO is stepping closer to its goal of making it to the quarterfinals in the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup bubble.
The Bolts defeated Terrafirma, 95-93, at the Angeles University Foundation Sports Arena and Cultural Center thanks to a buzzer-beating jumper by Chris Newsome to take a 6-4 win-loss record, tying Alaska for fourth place in the team standings.
A playoff spot in the Philippine Cup has eluded Meralco for five years, and now, the Bolts can seal that berth with a win over NorthPort on Wednesday.
While the race for quarterfinal berths remains a difficult one, Meralco coach Norman Black said he likes the chances of the Bolts as long as they take care of business in their final elimination round game.
“We probably have our fate in our own hands considering that we beat Magnolia, we beat Alaska, we beat Rain or Shine, and we beat NLEX. Those are the teams we are fighting with right now,” said Black.
Usually when Meralco is in the playoffs, the Bolts have an import in their line-up. Just last season, Meralco reached the finals of the 2019 Governors’ Cup with Allen Durham in the roster, but the Bolts lost in the championship against Barangay Ginebra.
The last time Meralco made it to the quarterfinals in an all-Filipino conference was in the 2014-2015 season – Black’s first season with the team – where the Bolts placed sixth at the end of the eliminations. The playoffs still had a different format where Meralco beat seventh-seed Purefoods in a do-or-die match in the first phase of the quarterfinals before losing in another knockout game.
Black admitted this year’s Meralco squad is the best all-Filipino team he has coached, with the entry of the likes of Raymond Almazan and Allein Maliksi.

“If you are a San Miguel team or a Talk ‘N Text team, it’s a given already. You’re supposed to make the quarterfinals and you are supposed to go to the semis. But for us, it’s been a big struggle in the all-Filipino. We do well in the import conferences because we bring in talented imports. But at the same time, we’ve been struggling in the all-Filipino. I actually said before this conference started that I thought this is the best all-Filipino (team) I’ve coached since I’ve been in Meralco and it’s coming true,” said Black.
But Black made it clear that the job is not yet done as all the Bolts’ effort could go to waste if they lose to also-ran NorthPort on Wednesday.
“But we still have to win one more game. We are still one game short of making it to our first goal. We focus on that, we have a couple of days off before we play again so hopefully, we can heal some of our injuries and come back in full strength on Wednesday,” Black said.
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