The Meralco Bolts have seemingly found their rhythm, and their 82-73 victory over arch-nemesis Barangay Ginebra San Miguel is proof of it. The win was Meralco’s third in a row and clinched for the defending champs a playoffs spot in the 2024–25 PBA Philippine Cup.
Needless to say, the Bolts seem to be peaking at the right time. Unfortunately, they’ll be pausing their 2024–25 PBA Philippine Cup campaign as the Bolts will head off to Dubai for the 2025 Basketball Champions League (BCL) Asia, where they’ll be representing the Philippines against champion teams from other leagues in Asia.
Not surprisingly, Meralco skipper Chris Newsome is seeing both the positives and negatives of what is essentially a detour for the Bolts before the PBA playoffs roll in. Newsome, in particular, seems to be concerned that the BCL could break Meralco’s improving play in the local league.
“It’s a good place to be in [clinching a place in the playoffs], we get that momentum going into the playoffs. The only thing is we have to cut that momentum to go overseas and play a different style of basketball with some imports that we’re not familiar with just yet,” Newsome pointed out in the postgame press conference after Meralco’s big win over Ginebra.
Chris Newsome Sees Tough Road Ahead
This will not be the first time Meralco will take an in-season detour to another tournament as it also played in the EASL—along with the San Miguel Beermen—a few months back just as the PBA Governors’ Cup was ongoing. So, Newsome would know the challenges involved. In fact, he admits it will be tough for the Bolts in more ways than one. He does, however, acknowledge that this BCL detour could bring in some positives as well.
“It’s gonna be tough to go out there, compete at a high level internationally, and then come back,” Newsome admitted. “It’s good for us ‘cause it’s gonna be high quality games, but it’s an interesting scenario for us because our chemistry is really good right now and the way we’re playing is really good right now. We’re playing at a high level, so it’s gonna take some teamwork all throughout the organization…”
At the very least, Meralco has been in this situation before. Yes, it didn’t turn out too well for the Bolts back then. But maybe they’ll do better this time around.
