
Meralco assistant coach Luigi Trillo appeared to have taken a dig at the team over the increasing physicality of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series with Magnolia Pambansang Manok.
Trillo didn’t hold back when he took to social media to express his dismay over the physicality that eventually led to the ejection of Bolts energy guy Cliff Hodge in the third quarter of the 92-78 loss which gave the Hotshots a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
“Hindi pwede 2 on 1. Abueva and Corpuz pinagtutulungan si Hodge,” Trillo in a tweet shortly after Meralco’s defeat Wednesday, Oct. 6.
“Nobody sumasalo. Playoffs na ito,” he continued. “May kasabihan nice soft guys finish last. Poor Cliff. Walang may mga b___g na tumutulong. Umayos kayo!”
The Bolts lost Hodge with 1:22 remaining in the third after kicking Abueva in the face after the two fell to the floor.
Though given a Flagrant Foul Penalty 1, Hodge earlier received a technical foul which led to his disqualification from the match.
Hodge also got kicked in the groin by Abueva while the two were intensely battling inside the paint in the early moments of the same period.
His loss coupled with Raymond Almazan’s injury on his left ankle had a huge role in Magnolia pulling away in the fourth.
Heated exchanges have marred the series since the start, and it could be the same moving forward. But Magnolia coach Chito Victolero once downplayed the situation, saying there’s nothing personal between the two squads.
“Expect mo na yan na high emotions, both teams want to win,” he said. “Of course, they'll give their best effort. It's also a battle of mental toughness in a physical game.
“Even in the other series (San Miguel Beer-TNT) ganun din naman. Dito lang yan sa court. Pagdating namin sa Quest (where all of the remaining teams are billeted), magkakaibigan lahat kami,” added Victolero.