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Meralco faces stiff PH Cup sked as BCL Asia looms

Sports | Basketball

Meralco faces stiff PH Cup sked as BCL Asia looms

At A Glance

Meralco is set to face a grueling stretch in the ongoing PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup following a rework of the league schedule to give way to the Bolts participation in the Basketball Champions League Asia.

Meralco is set to face a grueling stretch in the ongoing PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup following a rework of the league schedule to give way to the Bolts' participation in the Basketball Champions League Asia.

Under the revised schedule, Meralco is set to play in a difficult 21-day stretch where it will complete the remaining six games in its eliminations assignment before shifting its focus to the regional meet set on June 9 to 15.

The revision came after PBA commissioner Willie Marcial along with the Board of Governors and the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilpinas have decided to send the defending All-Filipino Cup champions as the league representative.

Currently on a three-game skid, the Bolts begin the compact schedule on Friday, May 9, when they take on the fellow struggling team NorthPort Batang Pier at the PhilSports Arena before taking on the Grand Slam-seeking TNT Tropang Giga two days later at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Meralco faces up against league-leading Magnolia on May 14 before getting a seven-day respite and returning to action against Blackwater on the 21st.

The Bolts tangle against the NLEX Road Warriors in their penultimate eliminations game on May 24 before their last game against rival Barangay Ginebra Kings on the 30th.

On top of trying to defend its title in the all-Filipino conference, the Bolts' participation in the BCL Asia meant an even greater responsibility to the franchise, with Hapee Toothpaste, bannered by reinforcements Tony Harris and Bobby Parks, winning the country's last title way back in 1196.

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