ANTIPOLO – Meralco may have missed the services of veteran forward Cliff Hodge, but the Bolts collectively played good defense against Blackwater to fill the void left by the team’s best defender.
Coach Luigi Trillo lauded the entire Meralco unit for rebounding and defending well in its runaway 103-85 win over the Bossing as Hodge served the one game suspension meted on him for the dangerous tackle he committed against Magnolia big man Zavier Lucero last week.
READ: Meralco Bolts snap out of funk, vent ire on woeful Blackwater
The Bolts battered the Bossing on the boards, 62-42, and held them to just 39 percent shooting from the field even in the absence of the 37-year-old Hodge.
“Si Cliff ang backbone namin sa depensa and it’s not going to be one guy but several guys. Everybody chipped in today. Makikita mo you didn’t have any heads down, you don’t see any quit. I think the psyche of the boys are better in this game,” said Trillo.
The win allowed Meralco to arrest a two-game skid and improved to a 4-5 slate heading to its final two games against NLEX and Barangay Ginebra.
The Bolts will have Hodge back in the roster during those last two matches.
But even without him, the Bolts played as if he was around.
“If you look at (Sedrick) Barefield and (Christian) David, they shot at a high percentage, but all those shots were tough,” said Trillo in pointing out to Blackwater’s dynamic duo, who finished with 23 and 24 points, respectively.
“And this is something we’re very happy with. You know were one of the best defensive teams, one of the best rebounding teams. And I think tonight, you could see tonight binigyan namin ng focus yung dalawang yun.”
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