Meralco returns to action after being put on the shelf due to COVID-19 protocols when it faces Terrafirma Thursday, Sept. 16 in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Don Honorio Ventura State University in Bacolor, Pampanga.

Tipoff is set at 2 p.m. with the second place Bolts, who hold a 5-2 record, playing for the first time in 13 days after entering the league’s health and safety protocols.

The Bolts had split their first two games in Bacolor with a come-from-behind 95-94 win over the Magnolia Pambansang Manok Hotshots last Sept. 1 and a 91-76 loss to the TNT Tropang Giga two days later.

Coach Norman Black’s squad was supposed to face defending champion Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the two teams’ first meeting since last year’s semifinals but was postponed as part of the PBA’s guidelines to combat the coronavirus.

Though holed up at their hotel rooms, the Bolts remained behind the Tropang Giga by the end of the second week since the restart, though barely ahead of the Hotshots and the San Miguel Beermen who carry 6-3 and 5-3 slates.

Expect Meralco to be wary of Terrafirma, which has fallen to 10th place at 3-6 after losing two games last week.

The Dyip began the Bacolor campaign with upsets of Ginebra and SMB, that is why there’s no reason why the team can be doubted in their clash against the Bolts.

NLEX hopes to snap a three-game skid at 4:35 p.m. against winless Blackwater, which will try to avoid tying the record for consecutive losses.

After suffering defeats to Magnolia, TNT and NorthPort that dropped its record to 4-5, NLEX attempts to restore order and keep an inside track in the quarterfinal race.

Desperate to pull off a victory is Blackwater, 0-9 this conference and has lost 17 in a row since last season’s bubble.

One more defeat and Blackwater will equal the dubious mark set by Great Taste when it suffered 18 straight losses back in the 1980 season.