TWO players who were part of the Meralco team that made it to the semifinals of the PBA Philippine Cup bubble won't be back this coming 46th season.
Wingman Nico Salva and center Jason Ballesteros have both been relegated to the free agent list after their respective contracts expired.
Meralco management confirmed the two had been let go by the franchise.
Salva and Ballesteros ironically, joined the Bolts together in 2017.
Salva, 31, was with the Bolts in the last all-Filipino Cup bubble, where the franchise made history by reaching the semifinals of the league’s most prestigious conference for the first time ever.
Meralco lost to eventual champion Barangay Ginebra in their sudden-death game in the semifinals on a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer by Scottie Thompson.
Ballesteros, 35, didn’t play in the bubble after being left out of the Bolts’ 15-man roster along with rookie Mike Canete, but was included in the lineup of the team for the season.
Salva had his best season in the league with Meralco, averaging 6.1 points and 2.5 rebounds in 37 games during his second year with the franchise, which advanced to the Governors Cup finals but lost against to Barangay Ginebra.
In his three-year stay with the Bolts, he averaged 4.2 points and 1.8 rebounds in 80 games.
He came over to Meralco from Terrafirma (Mahindra back then) as an unrestricted free agent heading to the 2017-18 season and was reunited with Ateneo college coach Norman Black.
Meanwhile, an ACL injury he suffered in 2019 kept Ballesteros from playing for the Bolts the last two seasons.
Both Salva and Ballesteros enjoyed successful collegiate careers heading to the pro league.
Salva was a five-time UAAP men’s basketball champion at Ateneo during his entire stint with the Katipunan-based school, while Ballesteros was a star big man at San Sebastian who was picked as a member of the original Smart Gilas Pilipinas team under then coach Rajko Toroman.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph