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With four PBA titles under his belt, Meralco gunner Allein Maliksi knows a thing or two about winning where lights shine the brightest and stakes are at their highest.

And he proved just that on Friday night, figuring prominently in the Bolts’ 92-88 Game 5 conquest of defending champion San Miguel Beer that also put the club on the threshold of a historic first championship.

“I remember during my San Mig (Coffee) days, coach Tim Cone would always tell us that a team is only as strong as its weakest link,” he told the Inquirer on the heels of the contest at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“So we just wanted to hold each and everyone accountable. We wanted nobody to be the weakest link,” he wanted.

Maliksi, who won all his first four PBA championships with Cone and the Purefoods franchise, took such a lesson to heart with 22 points to lead—alongside Chris Newsome’s identical output—Meralco’s scorers that night.

‘Dirty work’

His performance was also a triumphant return from a lackluster showing, as he was contributing only 8.3 points in the last three contests before Friday’s duel.

“I have Raymond (Almazan), he motivates me. Cliff (Hodge) and (Chris) New(some) always tell me to stay ready. Bong (Quinto) reminds me to stay positive. We motivate each other, and we lift each other whenever someone’s feeling down,” he said.

Maliksi may have the wealth of championship experience, but he knows that it will take much to pull through this coming Sunday when the Bolts take the first crack at knocking the Beermen off their lofty porch.

“It will take a lot of mind-setting—our willingness to do the dirty work, the littlest of things,” he said. “Close-out games are the hardest to play in a series because the other team will do everything just to stay alive.”

“And we’re playing San Miguel—a veteran team when it comes to stages like this, a championship series. They also have a June Mar Fajardo who is almost automatic (with his baskets).”