Chris Banchero not only made his return but also made a solid contribution in Meralco’s 104-91 victory over Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in Game 1 of the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals.

A game-time decision because of an injury on his upper body, Banchero came off the bench to dish out six assists while grabbing two rebounds and scoring two points in almost 15 minutes of playing time.

Banchero later insisted that there’s no reason for him to remain on the sidelines, saying that he’s good enough to play despite his condition.

“I’m healthy and I’m good to go,” Banchero said after the opener held Wednesday, April 6 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. “It’s been a long conference and everybody has injuries here and there. It’s the finals and not much to talk about.”

The dashing guard got hurt in Game 4 of Meralco’s semifinal series against Magnolia Pambansang Manok and watched from the bench despite being in uniform during the deciding match which saw the Bolts eliminate the Hotshots.

Meralco coach Norman Black was glad to see Banchero in action despite the injury.

“I’m so happy that he was able to get out there on the basketball court,” Black said. “He still hasn't practiced in about three weeks. So it's amazing that he can go out and play like that without any practice time in.

“Hopefully he'll be out on the practice floor (before Game 2) and he'll be able to get some reps in and he'll be a little bit better.

“But just having his presence out there, he's a very good player offensively. He can handle the ball really, really well. Offensively, he's solid, so it gives us a big lift whenever he's on the court.”

Banchero was one of many Meralco players who gave their own share in taking down Ginebra convincingly before 12,457 fans.

Allein Maliksi and import Tony Bishop led the charge with their offensive spark while Aaron Black, who is filling Banchero’s role as starting point guard, also produced in his first finals game.

“We’re gonna need everybody throughout the whole series,” said Banchero. “When everybody was in the locker room, we said that this is only Game 1 and we got a seven-game series.

“We know they’re gonna come out even tougher than this game. We’ll be ready.”