ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Trillo believes resilient Bolts deserve semis spot

Trillo believes resilient Bolts deserve semis spot

Published Jan 18, 2024 08:05 am

At A Glance

  • Meralco head coach Luigi Trillo said his team showed great resilience and character in the triple-overtime win over Phoenix.

Meralco head coach Luigi Trillo said his team showed great resilience and character in the triple-overtime win over Phoenix.

The victory, he said, served as a proof the the Bolts are deserving of actually claiming one of the four coveted seats in the semifinals.

 

PBA Images6 (9).JPG
Chris Newsome extended Meralco's lives with a booming triple at the end of regulation. (PBA Images)

The Bolts were down 15 points in the final frame but clawed their way back into the contest with Chris Newsome drilling a buzzer-beating triple that sent the game to an extra period. 

A furious back-and-forth affair between the two teams ensued in the two exhausting overtime periods before Meralco finally outlasted Phoenix behind a telling 10-0 run midway through the third extension.

“A lot of heroes para sa amin, Newsome hit that big shot, a lot of guys in double figures pero para sa amin (we’ll just do) whatever it takes,” said Trillo following Meralco’s gutsy 116-107 win that forced a rubber match on Sunday, Jan. 21.

“We’ve been in this situation before. I think we have to keep that momentum going. A lot of respect sa Phoenix, we were down 15 [and] we know it’s gonna be a battle and with them you cannot rest,” he added.

Bong Quinto came up huge in the overtime periods, pouring 14 of his 19 points while Newsome wound up with 16. Aaron Black, Allein Maliksi and import Shonn Miller all account for 18 points each.

Although coming into the playoffs as the fifth seed, Meralco sported similar records with the three teams above them that held a twice-to-beat advantage in the playoffs. That was why Trillo is very much confident of the quality of his squad and they have the ability to get the job done.

“Looking at it we have the opportunity to get into the semis, we deserve to be there too. For me it’s not gonna be easy pero balik kami sa drawing board pag usapan namin,” said the amiable coach.

He, however, preached to his wards to not let the momentum slip away from their hands especially now that they finally got themselves a shot at advancing to the semifinals.

“This is what you want. I mean, if you could get a game right now let’s go now. If we could play now, I don't want to wait two days,” said Trillo.

“Buo ‘yung loob namin. We’re excited you want to play these type of games, for sure these guys, if we want to get it now, tomorrow bukas na natin.”

 

ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.