Not too long ago, the Meralco Bolts had claimed the mountaintop, stunning the mighty San Miguel Beermen to capture the PBA Philippine Cup title in Season 48. Since then, however, the Bolts haven’t gotten remotely close to sniffing another title, losing in the quarterfinals in the three conferences following that golden conquest nearly two years ago.
The struggle was real, and it isn’t lost on Bolts coach Luigi Trillo, even after Meralco finally got past the quarters with its 98–89 victory over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on Monday.
“It’s been hard after that championship because some of the other teams have improved themselves. They’ve made a lot of trades. They’ve gotten younger,” Trillo acknowledged after the Bolts eliminated the Elasto Painters before a good-sized crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Indeed, the Bolts’ lineup has largely stayed intact since that championship, save for the addition of CJ Cansino in the Season 49 Draft. San Miguel, in contrast, traded for Juami Tiongson and Andreas Cahilig, while Barangay Ginebra San Miguel dealt for Stephen Holt, Isaac Go, and a draft pick that netted them RJ Abarrientos. Even the team Meralco will be facing in the semis—the TNT Tropang 5G—has been continuously retooling, adding Jio Jalalon and Kevin Ferrer to an already loaded lineup.
“Extracurricular Activities” an Added Challenge for Meralco
Aside from making do with an intact roster, Meralco has also had to deal with playing in other tournaments as the Philippines’ representative, competing in the EASL and BCL. Yet, for all these challenges, Meralco is now back in the semis and is eight wins away from climbing the mountaintop once more.
“And then the EASL and BCL, it was really hard to do both. So, I think we did enough that we were like one game away from getting, like, a twice-to-beat or getting into the top four or top two,” Trillo added. “But I think for us, people don’t know how hard it is that we were given the responsibility—these guys and their staff—to go into the EASL and try to do well there and here. And then this [PBA]. I’m just proud of the resiliency where, you know, we didn’t start out well. And then we were 3–4. We had to win three straight.”
The Bolts did win three straight—against the Terrafirma Dyip, Phoenix Fuel Masters, and Converge FiberXers—in a span of four days just to secure a spot in the quarterfinals. Now, Meralco is in the semis, and “this is special,” according to Trillo.
But there is little time to celebrate. In a few days, Meralco will be back in action, this time against an even more formidable adversary in TNT.
After all the challenges the Bolts have overcome so far, what’s another one, right?
