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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Meralco, ROS figure in rare Monday do-or-die

Meralco, ROS figure in rare Monday do-or-die

Published Dec 28, 2025 02:48 pm

At A Glance

  • Meralco and Rain or Shine lock horns for the last semifinals slot in a rare do-or-die Monday game in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup quarterfinals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Dec. 29.

Meralco and Rain or Shine lock horns for the last semifinals slot in a rare do-or-die Monday game in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup quarterfinals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Dec. 29.

The Bolts and the Elasto Painters battle one last time with the two squads expecting that nothing would come easy in the highly anticipated duel that tips off at 7:30 p.m.

The momentum, however, is surely on the side of Meralco which forced Rain or Shine to use its second life following a 96-79 victory for the Bolts in Game 1 on Saturday, Dec. 27.

But head coach Luigi Trillo doesn’t want his wards to get a little too happy with the win as they brace for a big fightback especially from a coach Yeng Guiao-mentored team.

“The last three conferences, they've been able to build a team, a good team. It's evident in the way they're playing. They've been in the semifinals the last three times. This is not gonna come easy,” said Trillo.

Meralco went off to a hot start in the contest and led by as many as 34 points – an advantage that proved to be enough to cushion a late rally from Rain or Shine.

Though the defense surely contributed to the rare offensive slump to the usual run-and-gun Elasto Painters, it also helped the Bolts that ROS was misfiring from three-point territory.

"Again, they shot the ball from three, 12 percent, 4 out of 33. Rain or Shine has the most threes in the league. They live and die with that. They run at that pace,” he added.

Guiao, for his part, expressed little concern to ROS shooting slump, though he admitted they need to make an extra effort to free their shooters.

“You're gonna have bad shooting nights. Of course, we have to get ready for the way they play their defense,” said Guiao.

“But we need some good looks. Even our three-point shooting was way, way, below our average. Also, getting used to the physicality, to what the refs will call and what the refs will not call. That's the lesson and that's the value of getting a voice-to-beat advantage,” he added.

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