Meralco head coach Luigi Trillo expressed his faith in the potential of rookie big man Brandon Bates who reminds him of Alaska great Sonny Thoss if he further improves in the league.

After being saddled by injuries in his first season in the PBA, Bates is slowly finding his footing with the Bolts, showing a glimpse of what he could bring to the table that made him the eighth overall pick in the recent draft.

“He reminds us a little bit , this guy (Chris Banchero) and I, si Sonny Thoss. He comes in and he does the dirty work so he’s a little bit on that mold also when it comes to certain things you want to do,” said Trillo.

Both Banchero and Trillo actually worked with Thoss during their days with the Alaska franchise and they should, more than anyone else, certainly see something in Bates that merits the comparison.

“For the years to come he’s a very important piece of the team he’s an amazing teammate and he’s got a lot of potential he’s a big piece of the franchise for sure,” Banchero said of the 27-year-old big man who had seven rebounds and three blocks to anchor the Bolts’ defense in the 100-81 series clinching win over NLEX.

While the comparison surely a tough expectation to live up to, the 6-foot-9 center will have a chance to prove it when he takes on the vaunted frontline of Christian Standhardinger and Japeth Aguilar in the semifinals.

“I think we really need him against Ginebra. You see what Standhardinger is doing, you have Japeth there. We need another big to help Raymond. Malaking bagay si Brandon moving forward,” said Trillo.

“Brandon does a lot of the dirty work and is a great pick up for us character guy all the way. He’s learning. He’s got these guys, the vets, to take care of him. His growth this conference napakaganda sa amin.He had a little bit of a knee injury so it took some time. But now, he's doing his own thing," he added.