By REYNALD MAGALLON
Meralco and Converge are looking for a quick bounce back when they take on separate foes in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Sunday, April 13.
Both the Bolts and the FiberXers aim to pick up the pieces from their defeats the last time out with Meralco taking on Phoenix in the first offering at 5 p.m. before Converge faces up against Blackwater in the second game at 7:30 p.m.
After opening their title-retention bid with twin victories, the Bolts ran into a brick wall in June Mar Fajardo and the San Miguel Beermen, absorbing their first taste of defeat, 98-110.
Meralco head coach Luigi Trillo conceded that the Beermen were simply the better team in that game and it only showed that there are still a lot of things to work on for Meralco.
“We’re always learning. I don’t think we’re at our best today. I think we’re OK for a quarter and a half,” said Trillo, whose Meralco sports a 2-1 record.
If there’s a silver lining in the loss for the Bolts, though, it was their bench looking ready to pick up the slack for their starters.
Kurt Reyson is proving to be a reliable backup guard especially now that Meralco is still without Chris Banchero, while their bigs in Brandon Bates and Raymar Jose also providing solid contributions.
And those should be crucial as Chris Newsome, Aaron Black and Bong Quinto will need all the help they can get against Phoenix which is winless in two games.
It seems like rookie Kai Ballungay is slowly coming to age for the Fuel Masters as he led the team in scoring through their first two games. He, however, will need more help especially from guys like Tyler Tio and RJ Jazul.
Meanwhile, at 1-2, Converge, one of the league’s dark horses, seemed to be still finding its identity after losses to Meralco and Magnolia and a convincing win against Phoenix.
The potential, however, is undeniable with the towering duo of Justin Arana and Justine Baltazar leading the way along with potent scorers at the backcourt in Schonny Winston and Alec Stockton.
Blackwater, however, is not to be taken for granted though with Sedrick Barefield and Christian David showing promise despite their blowout loss to Magnolia.
