Newsome’s great Meralco play spills over to Gilas in Riga


Chris Newsome–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

PBA Philippine Cup champion Meralco could not be any prouder of the way Chris Newsome performed for Gilas Pilipinas in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT).

And the Bolts can only look forward to how Newsome will carry himself when he resumes club duties in the next month for the season-opening Governors’ Cup, granting he does re-sign with Meralco.

“We are very proud of New,” coach Luigi Trillo told the Inquirer after Newsome and Gilas’ Cinderella run came to an end with a semifinal loss to Brazil in the Latvia side of the Paris Olympics qualifier.

Newsome came into the OQT on a high after his baseline jumper in Game 6 of the Philippine Cup Finals propelled Meralco to its first-ever PBA championship at the expense of San Miguel Beer and Gilas teammates June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez.

The PBA Press Corps Finals MVP averaged 9.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals in three games in the OQT, where Gilas defeated host Latvia to eventually seal a semis berth despite a narrow loss to Georgia.

In two matches of group play, Newsome posted 10 points and four rebounds against Latvia and 13 points, four rebounds and six assists opposite Georgia.

He had five points, two rebounds, one assist and three steals in the semis against Brazil, but Gilas sputtered with just six points in the third quarter which contributed heavily to the 71-60 loss that crushed the Philippines’ bid for a first Olympic berth since 1972.

“He is a very big part of why our Gilas team did well,” said Trillo, who pointed out that Newsome “really is a leader.

“He is the vocal leader to all the players there. That guy is selfless, knows how to play the right way and is character all around,” said Trillo as the team and Newsome will finalize details of a new pact when he returns.

Gold in Asiad

Newsome belongs to a batch of players that can negotiate with other teams freely, but Al Panlilio, the former Meralco PBA board representative and Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president who was with the team in Riga, said “I hope he does,” when the Inquirer asked if their prized guard will stay.

Newsome’s run of form began late last year when he played a key part for coach Tim Cone in Gilas’ successful conquest of the Hangzhou Asian Games gold medal.

That carried over to the PBA as Newsome was able to perhaps display his best season since being drafted by Meralco in 2015.



Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.


Your subscription has been successful.

And with a championship and a good OQT run for club and country, Newsome is having a great year. INQ

Meralco Bolts’ six steps to PBA immortality


Meralco Bolts celebrate their first franchise PBA championship. – PBA Images

MANILA, Philippines—In order to make a masterpiece of a film, a movie needs six things.

Meralco showed how it made its magnum opus with coach Luigi Trillo and active consultant Nenad Vucinic behind the camera, commanding the Bolts in making a historic film; winning their first-ever PBA Philippine Cup.

Inquirer Sports breaks down how the Bolts achieved history in the most fascinating and cinematic way possible while doing it in six steps—or games.

STEP 1: STUNNING EXPOSITION

Meralco Bolts' Cliff Hodge, Allein Maliksi and Raymond Almazan during Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals against San Miguel Beermen

Meralco Bolts’ Cliff Hodge, Allein Maliksi and Raymond Almazan during Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals against San Miguel Beermen. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

Meet the heroes.

In order to make a sound movie, it has to give an introduction to its main protagonists. In this case, the Bolts.

After finishing as the third-seed in the elimination round of the All-Filipino Conference, Meralco was set up to face the top-seeded San Miguel Beermen, who finished with a 10-1 record.

On paper, it was obvious that the season-ending best-of-seven series was set to be a David and Goliath affair.

READ: Meralco wins first PBA title, survives San Miguel in Game 6

Trillo, obviously, wasn’t reading the same paper.

“San Miguel, we have a lot of respect for them but we can match up with them,” said the top coach just days before Game 1 of the Finals.

That same confidence, of course, bore amazing results.

After all, the Finals is a completely different beast compared to the elimination round. So the Bolts channeled their inner Jay-Z and said, “allow us to reintroduce ourselves.”

And reintroduce themselves, they did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXMcgXSA6ME

In Game 1 of the Philippine Cup’s finalè, Meralco reintroduced itself in a stunning way, shocking the fans who thought the Beermen would have an easy go-around against the Bolts.

Those expectations of a San Miguel domination turned out to be a 93-86 win for Meralco to take the upper-hand.

However, one win in a series opener means nothing. Just ask Trillo, who made it clear that this movie’s just starting. Meralco needed to embark on an adventure in the coming games with hopes of solving the mighty Beermen’s puzzle.

READ: PBA: Aaron Black fulfills championship dream in unexpected way

“We need to prepare,” said a dazed Trillo.

“The more we zone in and lock in on those [plans], the better chance—50-50 chance—we have of beating this team. Then again, we know they’ll come in with adjustments. We need to see the same mistakes we did here,” said the top tactician.”

And what do you do once you introduce your valiant main characters?

STEP 2: ENTER CONFLICT

San Miguel's June Mar Fajardo PBA Finals

San Miguel’s June Mar Fajardo during the PBA Philippine Cup Finals. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

There’s a reason why San Miguel posed to be one of the best antagonists in recent PBA history.

Imagine Thanos having the Infinity Gauntlet to help with his already brute physique.

Now imagine having June Mar Fajardo and giving him reinforcements like Marcio Lassiter, CJ Perez, Jericho Cruz and Chris Ross to name a few. Just how would you approach that mammoth of a team?

Well, like Thanos, San Miguel activated one of their stones to take down the emerging hero of this story.

READ: PBA: Unable to stop June Mar, Meralco still finds way to win

Enter “Super Marcio.”

Marcio Lassiter, who had a habit of hitting clutch shots for the Beermen, showed up big to avoid Meralco from snatching a 2-0 advantage.

The Bolts held a slim 94-92 lead over San Miguel when CJ Perez ran the length of the floor and found a ready and waiting Lassiter in the left corner of the hardwood.

“I just knew if I can get to my spot, read the defense and pump fake, I can be open. I got a good look at the basket and that’s all I really need,” said the San Miguel sniper.

“Anytime I can get a good look and see the rim, I really feel like I can make it. A few times before, I was able to stay poised and when given an opportunity, I took it,” he added.

Lassiter’s heroics gave the Beermen a 95-94 victory, further making this film of a series more exciting.

STEP 3: RISE IN ACTION

Chris Newsome PBA Finals MVP Meralco Bolts

Meralco Bolts’ Chris Newsome. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

Revenge is a dish best served cold… or just a day before a heartbreaking loss.

When Chris Newsome watched Lassiter step back and sink the dagger in the heart of his beloved team, he had 48 hours to respond.

When the Bolts faithful thought about how Meralco would answer from a tragic loss, Newsome had the answer in the 34-second mark of Game 3’s fourth quarter.

In almost the exact spot where Lassiter pummeled Meralco’s heart into bits in Game 2, the Gilas Pilipinas guard waited patiently while Chris Banchero set up a play.

The Beermen led, 89-88, until Newsome found breathing room—yes, in the same left corner of the Big Dome’s court—and hit a triple in front of well-renowned defender Mo Tautuaa to give San Miguel a taste of its own medicine.

After all, what’s more cinematic than seeing parallels?

“To be honest, I wasn’t thinking. I was just being in the moment,” said Newsome after their 93-89 dub that put them up the series, 2-1.

“It felt good that my shot did fall but at the end of the day, you can’t let your guard down until it [the clock] says 0:00.”

However, if you know the Beermen as well as any PBA fans do, you know they’re brewing up a vengeance and they had three days to draw it up.

STEP 4: ABSORB THE CLIMAX

A climax is the most intense, exciting, or important point of something; a culmination or an apex.

And in this All-Filipino Conference, the apex was Fajardo, the most dominant player in PBA history with a league-best seven MVP awards.

In this part of the film, he was crowned as the Best Player of the Conference, his 10th overall. Seeing Fajardo hailed for his dominance was nothing new. For the Bolts, though, it was a concerning sight.

The Bolts defeated this mammoth of a man three days ago and just when he had enough motivation from a harrowing defeat, he was given another trophy to add to his already packed cabinet of hardwares?

Cue Darth Vader’s theme song, because that was the most fitting sound seeing Fajardo raise up the BPC award; it’s awe-inspiring, breathtaking and borderline terrifying—if you’re his opposition.

And the Bolts were, indeed, his opposition.

As expected, the rested and undisputed GOAT of the PBA toyed with Meralco from start to finish, showing fans what they haven’t seen for the past three games of the series; clear-cut dominance.

Meralco never led in the entire game. Fajardo, meanwhile, turned in a monster performance to the tune of 28 points and 13 rebounds. If that wasn’t impressive enough, he also missed just five of his 14 shots for a waxing-hot 64 percent field goal clip.

In Fajardo’s explanation, the trophy wasn’t really the main motivation for his in-game rampage. No, you can thank the Bolts for provoking him with a win three days ago.

The BPC plum? Well, that’s just the cherry on top.

“I’m motivated because we were down by one game in this series. The BPC [award] is just a bonus,” said Fajardo in Filipino.

“I’m happy to get the BPC but [I give] credits to my teammates because I wouldn’t get that if it wasn’t for them.”

With the series pushed back to square one at 2-2, leaving the question: Which team would fall into a dangerous 2-3 disadvantage.

STEP 5: LET ‘EM FALL

Meralco Bolts guard Chris Banchero

Meralco Bolts guard Chris Banchero. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

That team was not the Meralco Bolts.

Trillo’s wards took what was predicted to be an easy go-around for the Beermen and that has been the theme thus far into the series, hasn’t it?

Every time Meralco would score a goal, spectators would move the goalpost even farther. The Bolts would reach that goalpost anyway, showing how truly valiant a protagonist could be.

But this win felt different from other Meralco victories in the back-and-forth series. Instead of moving just one win away from history, the Bolts had little to no smile after the buzzer sounded on their 92-88 victory over San Miguel.

“What’s there to be happy about?” asked Maliksi post-game.

“We don’t think about the future, we’ll stay in the moment and prepare for Sunday’s game,” added the Meralco sniper after finishing with 22 points to topple the Beermen down to a twice-to-win disadvantage.

Despite moving a step closer to finishing what has been a glorious story, the Bolts are well-aware not to close the book and celebrate right away.

Just ask Chris Banchero, who can quite literally be the lead actor of this adventurous flick.

“We know they’ll come out and give it their all and we’ll do the same. We know we’re in no position to do anything because we haven’t done anything,” said the floor general, fresh off a 12-point outing.

Things were looking fine and dandy for this movie’s protagonists but there still was Sunday.

STEP 6: ELECTRIFYING RESOLUTION

Meralco Bolts PBA Finals championship

Meralco Bolts win their first-ever PBA title after beating San Miguel Beermen in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

Meralco, as its team name suggests, has Bolts, who are capable of electrifying the crowd and even the history books.

That’s exactly what they did on Sunday, June 16, inside the Big Dome.

With just one win from finishing what has been a tremendous story, Trillo, Vucinic and the entire Meralco squad buckled up for an impending Beermen effort.

“We had to pivot and work through things. There were times when we were down but our staff members helped each other out, challenged the guys, we challenged the players and they responded to get out of holes,” Trillo said after exorcising Meralco’s demons of never winning a title with an 80-78 thriller.

But he wouldn’t have done it without the help of his right-hand man, the mentor out of Serbia and New Zealand.

“For coach Nenad and me, it’s not just about one or two games, looking at him and what he does, he puts pressure on guys and I’m glad the guys stepped up.”

Despite the antagonists’ best efforts highlighted by another double-double performance by Fajardo with 21 points and 12 rebounds, Meralco hung on until the end, repulsing any possibilities for a do-or-die Game 7.

In the ending scene of a remarkable movie, Allein Maliksi left his stamp in the record books with 14 points and three rebounds

Of course, Newsome’s heroics weren’t left unacknowledged as he won the Finals MVP award, willing the Bolts to a masterpiece of a series with norms of 22.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists after six games.

At the end of it all when the credits rolled, the protagonists rose to the occasion against a franchise that’s almost synonymous with the word “dynasty.”



Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.


Your subscription has been successful.

The Beermen’s run to a 30th championship wasn’t to be. No, that story will probably be in production very soon with only a few months away from the next PBA season.

Tonight, this series and this conference belonged to one team and one team only. They didn’t just accomplish that feat historically, they also did it quite cinematically.

PBA Finals Game 6 San Miguel vs Meralco


2024 PBA Philippine Cup Finals schedule (Game 6)

Smart Araneta Coliseum

6:15pm – San Miguel Beermen vs Meralco Bolts

FULL SCHEDULE HERE.

San Miguel Beer guard CJ Perez during Game 6 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—The hard work never stops for CJ Perez in the offseason especially after San Miguel Beer lost in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.

Even after coming off his best PBA season yet, Perez, the Best Player of the Conference in the 2024 Commissioner’s Cup, feels the need to further improve his game and help get the Beermen back to the top.

Chris Newsome PBA Finals MVP Meralco Bolts

Meralco Bolts’ Chris Newsome celebrates after leading his team to the PBA Philippine Cup championship.-MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Meralco couldn’t have hoped for any other player than Chris Newsome to hold the ball in the endgame of Game 6 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.

Newsome showed why after he nailed the game-clinching shot to deliver the Bolts’ first-ever PBA title on Sunday night.

Chris Newsome Meralco Bolts PBA Finals

PBA Finals MVP Chris Newsome delivers Meralco’s first-ever PBA championship.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines–Chris Newsome finally entered hallowed basketball grounds on Sunday night, delivering Meralco’s first-ever PBA title at the expense of erstwhile defending champion San Miguel.

The two-way guard delivered the finishing blow of the 80-78 Game 6 victory at Smart Araneta Coliseum, capping off a stellar effort that eventually earned him the Honda-PBA Press Corps Finals Most Valuable Player.

Meralco Bolts PBA championship PBA Philippine Cup Finals

Meralco Bolts celebrate after winning their first-ever PBA title.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines–Call them the “Miracle Bolts.”

Against a battle-tested enemy so used to playing on a pressured-packed stage, the Bolts on Sunday stunned San Miguel, 80-78, to rule the PBA Philippine Cup.

Meralco Bolts in Game 5 of the PBA philippine Cup Finals against San Miguel Beermen

Meralco Bolts in Game 5 of the PBA philippine Cup Finals against San Miguel Beermen. -MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

Now that they are within a win of their first-ever PBA championship, the Meralco Bolts are determined to not let a golden opportunity slip away.

Their first chance to close the series out is on Sunday night in Game 6 of the Philippine Cup Finals at Smart Araneta Coliseum, where the franchise that endured so many title heartbreaks can make those defeats a distant memory with another victory over the favored San Miguel Beermen.

June Mar Fajardo and the San Miguel Beermen in Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals against Meralco Bolts.

June Mar Fajardo and the San Miguel Beermen in Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals against Meralco Bolts. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

San Miguel Beer is in a precarious, yet familiar predicament which it will try to overcome in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals when it stands up to Meralco’s first of two chances to end its long search for a championship.

Game 6 is set 6:15 p.m. on Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum, where the defending champion Beermen will try to solve the woes that allowed the Bolts to seize a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series two nights earlier.

Meralco Bolts' Allein Maliksi in during Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals

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

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.



Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.


Your subscription has been successful.

Read Next

Don’t miss out on the latest news and information.

Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.

Meralco wins first PBA title, survives San Miguel in Game 6


Meralco Bolts celebrate after winning their first-ever PBA title.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines–Call them the “Miracle Bolts.”

Against a battle-tested enemy so used to playing on a pressured-packed stage, the Bolts on Sunday stunned San Miguel, 80-78, to rule the PBA Philippine Cup.

Chris Newsome hit a fadeaway jumper with 1.3 remaining to cap Meralco’s stand at Smart Araneta Coliseum, finishing off the much-fancied defending champions in six tightly contested games.

READ: PBA Finals: ‘Nobody remembers second place,’ says Meralco coach Trillo

Allein Maliksi was just as big in the clincher, delivering 14 points to backstop Newsome’s 15 which also helped the club to its first-ever title in Asia’s pioneering pro league.

Bong Quinto had 11 points, Chris Banchero 10, Raymond Almazan nine while Cliff Hodge, Anjo Caram, and Norbert Torres pumped in six points each.

June Mar Fajardo, earlier crowned the Best Player of the Conference, tied the game at 78-all with 3.3 ticks remaining, almost willing the Beermen back and dragging the Bolts to a deciding Game 7. He finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

READ: PBA Finals: Unable to stop June Mar, Meralco still finds way to win

CJ Perez tossed in 14 points, Marcio Lassiter 11, Mo Tautuaa 10. Terrence Romeo added nine, Don Trollano seven, and Simon Enciso five off the bench.

Sunday’s triumph marks the first time Meralco was at the basketball mountaintop since ruling the Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association, a precursor of the PBA, in 1971.



Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.


Your subscription has been successful.

Chris Newsome repays Meralco ‘faith’ with title-clinching shot


Meralco Bolts’ Chris Newsome celebrates after leading his team to the PBA Philippine Cup championship.-MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Meralco couldn’t have hoped for any other player than Chris Newsome to hold the ball in the endgame of Game 6 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.

Newsome showed why after he nailed the game-clinching shot to deliver the Bolts’ first-ever PBA title on Sunday night.

“New has been in that situation a lot of times,” said Meralco coach Luigi Trillo, who won his second title as a PBA coach after claiming his first with Alaska in 2013, after the Bolts’ 80-78 escape in Game 6.

READ: Finals MVP Chris Newsome leads Meralco breakthrough PBA title win

“We have faith in him, he’s a special player in taking that fadeaway.”

Newsome’s clutch corner jumper came after June Mar Fajardo’s rare triple knotted the count at 78 with 3.3 seconds remaining.

Fajardo, who posted 21 points and 12 rebounds, tried to answer back but misfired on his 3-point try as time expired.

Newsome, who was hailed Finals MVP, finished with 15 points, five rebounds and four assists.

“You have to give it to San Miguel. We were up with some seconds left and they had no quit. I’m just very proud of New because he’s done that a lot of times.”



Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.


Your subscription has been successful.

Finals MVP Chris Newsome leads Meralco breakthrough PBA title


PBA Finals MVP Chris Newsome delivers Meralco’s first-ever PBA championship.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines–Chris Newsome finally entered hallowed basketball grounds on Sunday night, delivering Meralco’s first-ever PBA title at the expense of erstwhile defending champion San Miguel.

The two-way guard delivered the finishing blow of the 80-78 Game 6 victory at Smart Araneta Coliseum, capping off a stellar effort that eventually earned him the Honda-PBA Press Corps Finals Most Valuable Player.

Newsome had 15 points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a block in the clincher.

READ: Meralco wins first PBA title, survives San Miguel in Game 6

Newsome also delivered the finishing blow—a fadeaway jumper over the outstretched arms of Don Trollano—with 1.3 ticks left on the clock.

The Ateneo product and Gilas Pilipinas mainstay racked up an average of 22.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.5 assists throughout the title series where many felt the Bolts were overwhelming underdogs.

Newsome finally added the most important feather to his cap. Before Sunday night, he had been a two-time All-Star, a member of the All-Defensive Team, and the 2016 Rookie of the Year, but never a PBA champion.



Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.


Your subscription has been successful.

San Miguel unfazed by 3-2 disadvantage vs Meralco


San Miguel Beermen bench during Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—San Miguel’s Chris Ross is well aware of the theme of this year’s PBA Philippine Cup Finals.

Though Meralco is a win away from closing out the best-of-seven series, Ross still believes that the Beermen remain in a good place to defend their All-Filipino conference crown.

“We’re good,” Ross assured after their 92-88 loss to the Bolts at Araneta Coliseum on Friday.

“The series has been going this way, we win one, they win one, we win another. We’ve been in this situation before, it’s part of a series. Our morale’s where it always was and we’re ready to go for Sunday.”

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

Ross was one of San Miguel’s guards who struggled mightily in what could’ve been a game for the Beermen to take the commanding 3-2 lead.

He finished with just three points on 1-of-6 shooting which hampered June Mar Fajardo’s monster showing of 38 points and 18 rebounds.

San Miguel guard Chris Ross in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.

San Miguel guard Chris Ross in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

Guards Marcio Lassiter and CJ Perez also had difficulties on the offensive end with just six and 17 points, respectively.

But while offense will be a point of concern in Game 6, Ross said playing great defense will also be key to avoiding the scenario of the Bolts winning the title.

READ: PBA Finals: History on the side of Meralco Bolts after Game 5 win

“It’s not really just me, it’s everyone. We’re switching with guards and whoever gets the matchup just has to guard. We’re not really setting up matchups, we’re just guarding whoever’s in front of us and we go from there,” said Ross.

The pesky guard also emphasized that San Miguel is in the right headspace.

Instead of thinking about a possible Game 7, Ross said they’re not worried about next week but are more concerned with the task at hand, which is beating Meralco on Sunday at the same venue at 6:15 pm.



Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.


Your subscription has been successful.

“We’re not worried about that. We’re just worried about Game 6. We’re just going to go watch film, fix what we got to fix, win on Sunday and possibly be ready for Game 7 on Wednesday and I like our chances.”

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.



Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.


Your subscription has been successful.

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

History on the side of Meralco Bolts after Game 5 win


Meralco Bolts’ Cliff Hodge, Allein Maliksi and Raymond Almazan during Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals against San Miguel Beermen. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines–Meralco is on the edge of a historic first crown in the PBA.

After nipping San Miguel, 92-88, Friday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum, the Bolts are now up 3-2 in the best-of-seven championship series with a chance to finish off the defending champion this coming Sunday.

History is on the side of the Luigi Trillo and Nenad Vucenic-mentored crew as 15 of the 19 clubs in the last 12 years who won Game 5 after a 2-all deadlock went on to win the title, according to stats chief Fidel Mangonon III.

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

Mathematically, that’s a 79 percent possibility favoring the Bolts.

But standing in the way is a San Miguel squad that has a veritable chokehold of PBA titles. And the Beermen, having won 29 titles, know what it takes to pull through in a stage where stakes are at their highest.

San Miguel owns three comebacks in the Finals. The Beermen have figured in 2-3 series deficits thrice and still managed to win the title, the last being against TNT four years ago, also in the Philippine Cup.

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

The other two instances are against Magnolia during the 2019 All Filipino, and against crowd darling Barangay Ginebra in the 2009 edition of the Fiesta Cup.

Safe to say Meralco has its work cut out for itself this coming Sunday when it tries to finish off the vaunted side at the fabled Big Dome.



Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.


Your subscription has been successful.

Meralco needs to ‘play with poise’ to close out San Miguel


Meralco Bolts in Game 5 of the PBA philippine Cup Finals against San Miguel Beermen. -MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Playing with poise will be of utmost importance for Meralco as it tries to close out San Miguel in Game 6 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals on Sunday.

According to Chris Banchero, the Bolts will have to play their own brand of basketball if they want to avoid a do-or-die Game 7 against the mighty Beermen.

And Meralco locked in.

There were zero celebrations in the Meralco locker room Friday night despite moving just one win away from their first-ever PBA title.

HIGHLIGHTS: PBA Finals Game 5 San Miguel vs Meralco

“This goes without saying, we know how good their team is. We have to play with a lot of poise heading into this next game, be determined and work hard,” said Banchero on Friday after their thrilling 92-88 win over San Miguel.

“We know they’ll come out and give it their all and we’ll do the same. We know we’re in no position to do anything because we haven’t done anything.”

Banchero did his job for Meralco to get the 3-2 lead after scoring 12 with four rebounds.

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

Banchero is also aware that the Beermen are well-capable of mounting a comeback blitz over them.

After all, this is the same team that accomplished the “Beeracle,” winning a title after being down 0-3 in a best-of-seven series with the now-defunct Alaska in the 2016 Philippine Cup.

“They’re going to come out as hard as they can just like they did tonight and we have to play Meralco basketball, play good defense and give it our all.”



Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.


Your subscription has been successful.

“Sometimes, some guys are going to get hot and other nights we’ll have balanced scoring. We just have to make sure that regardless of what we’re doing on the offense, we’re doing our job on defense.”