Unable to stop June Mar, Meralco still finds way to win


Meralco Bolts’ Raymond Almazan and San Miguel Beermen’s June Mar Fajardo during the PBA Philippine Cup Finals. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—A win’s a win, no matter the cost.

In the case of Meralco in Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals, the Bolts won 92-88, to take the commanding 3-2 lead despite allowing Beermen star June Mar Fajardo to go off for 38 points and 18 rebounds.

Raymond Almazan wouldn’t have it any other way, though.

READ: PBA Finals: Meralco needs to ‘play with poise’ to close out San Miguel

“If you’ll ask me, I’ll trade that [performance] for a win,” said Almazan in Filipino at Araneta Coliseum on Friday. “He can even score 60 as long as we win.”

Almazan dropped 14 points and four rebounds in the crucial game but he got the last laugh over Fajardo who had a better shooting night.

While Almazan didn’t have the most dynamic night on offense, it was his defense that helped Meralco move to the cusp of making history.

And it wasn’t just Almazan, too, who had a hand in tiring out the Best Player of the Conference awardee.

READ: PBA Finals: June Mar Fajardo confident San Miguel will bounce back

The Bolts seemingly found the fix to San Miguel’s puzzle and one of the things they found effective was to put multiple bigs on Fajardo, including Almazan.

“What coach (Luigi Trillo) tells us is, if he scores, we run. If we foul and foul, he’s going to get some rest and we wouldn’t be able to run,” explained the lanky center.

Make no mistakes about it, though. It wasn’t easy to contain the seven-time MVP no matter how many bodies you put on him.

“June Mar’s heavy, he’s what, 260? Meanwhile, I’m at 220 but still trying my best to stop or at least limit him,” Almazan said.



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“It’s hard to stop him a lot. On his off night, he had 12 points and 15 rebounds. Off night pa ‘yon ah?”

Allein Maliksi finds his mark at a perfect time


Meralco Bolts’ Allein Maliksi in during Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—In a game where the Meralco Bolts needed not to be gun-shy, veteran shooter Allein Maliksi proved the perfect man for the job.

Riding Maliksi’s hot hands, the Bolts broke a deadlock in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals and moved just a win away from getting the franchise’s first league title.

Maliksi became the bearer of bad news for San Miguel as he finished with 22 points and five rebounds in only 26 minutes of action.

READ: Meralco on brink of first PBA title after Game 5 win over San Miguel

After figuring in a string of cold shooting slumps in the Finals, Maliksi became “more assetive” on offense in hopes of lightening the load for his fellow Bolts.

“I was asking plays for myself,” said Maliksi at Araneta Coliseum on Friday after their 92-88 win over the Beermen in Game 5.

“I was more assertive in calling plays for myself. I want to always be involved. I just continued to find my touches because I really needed to step up because they (Bolts) already did. It was my turn [tonight].”

HIGHLIGHTS: PBA Finals Game 5 San Miguel vs Meralco

In the veteran gunslinger’s stellar night, Maliksi registered an efficient 58 percent field goal shooting clip, sinking 10 of his 17 tries from the field.

No performance is perfect, however, and even Maliksi knows that to be true.

He lamented how San Miguel was always just a step behind in such a crucial game in the best-of-seven clash.

Thankfully, he and the Bolts had composure in their arsenal which avoided any hopes of a Beermen rally in the dying seconds of the game.

“For me, it was just our composure,” Maliksi said.  “We needed to answer on defense. That was our focus. All of us have to be on our toes on defense. On the offense, we’re packed. We have no problem.”



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The Bolts look to close out the series and make history on Sunday at the same venue at 6:15 pm.