MERALCO remains in pursuit of its first win over Barangay Ginebra this PBA season, and it will once again get a shot at it in the Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals.
The Bolts go up against the Gin Kings for the fifth time this season on Wednesday in the opener of their best-of-three quarterfinals. They will be looking to flip the trend after Meralco got swept in their most recent playoff battle in the Governors’ Cup quarterfinals last conference.
The Bolts were also defeated in their elimination round game against the Gin Kings – a 91-87 result in a game that saw bench players from both sides getting the bulk of the minutes but still not enough for the Bolys to overcome their perennial finals rivals.
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“We remember very, very fondly,” said Meralco head coach Luigi Trillo. “We’ve got our asses kicked. We got swept. Last game, they also beat us.”
But past is past for Meralco.
Trillo said it’s a new ballgame for the Bolts, looking at the quarterfinals as an opportunity to not just get back at the Gin Kings but to give their bid for a second championship in three conferences a major boost.
“It’s 0-0. No shortcuts. We have to go through the best. Whether you face Ginebra now or face them in the finals, we have to go through these tough teams. It happens that it’s Ginebra. We just have to be ready,” said Trillo.
The unfavorable results in past games are enough motivation for Meralco in this coming series, but Trillo admitted this Ginebra team is way, way better than the team that swept the Bols in the last Governors’ Cup quarterfinals.
“They’ve added a ton of dominant players that you built the team around. You’ve got Troy Rosario, [Jamie] Malonzo, the second pick of the draft is back. You’ve got (RJ) Abarrientos," said Trillo.
"That’s an All-Star na national team unit. And then, you’ve got Brownlee,” he added.
That doesn’t mean Trillo doesn’t have belief in his players as they look forward to the challenge of overcoming Ginebra this conference.
“We like that. We are excited about it. We want to bring it. We know it’s not going to be easy,” said Trillo. “This team (Ginebra) doesn’t only play well offensively. They punish you defensively with the way they’re disciplined enough to play it through.”
“We have to just be ready. They’re (Ginebra) playing really great basketball, they’ve got so much going for them, discipline-wise, offense, defense, so we have our hands full. But we are capable also,” said the Meralco mentor.
Akil Mitchell injury update
Akil Mitchell is expected to be fresh for the playoff after Meralco decided not to play its import in the past two games due to a case of back spasms. Trillo said Mitchell is also bothered by minor injuries outside of the broken nose he sustained early in the conference that also forced him to wear a protective mask during games.
“It’s not only his back. His knee is there, he’s got some things going on with his system… But you know, it’s just not going to be about Akil in this series. The other guys have to show up. They’ve got to show up – Bong (Quinto), New (Chris Newsome), AB (Aaron Black), CB (Chris Banchero), Cliff (Hodge), Brandon (Bates),” said Trillo.
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