QUEZON City, Philippines (October 11) – The Meralco Bolts have entered the PBA finals for the first time and they did it in the most glorious way possible, upsetting a top-seeded team. No one could have imagined Meralco defeating the mighty team of TNT, spearheaded by Jayson Castro, the best point-guard in Asia. But through perseverance, the Bolts have beaten the odds and have claimed their chance to bag the elusive championship.
On their way to the playoffs, they ended up in the fourth spot, a 6-5 record and a twice-to-beat advantage against a persistent team of Mahindra Enforcers. But Meralco was hungrier, after finishing dead last in the previous conference and vowed to improve in the next season. Meralco ousted Mahindra, led by their import Allen Durham who has magnificently put up great numbers for the Bolts.
Then they faced the top-seeded team in the semi-finals and saw themselves in a tight position. But they proved themselves to be fearless in the face of adversity. After losing the first game of the semifinals, they bounced back and won the next three games to defeat their adversary and advance to the finals.
The Bolts are now facing another mighty adversary, the most popular team in the PBA, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings, who ousted the defending champion of the Governor’s Cup, San Miguel Beermen, and is looking to end their championship drought of eight years.
Meralco is facing a team that have the likes of lightning-quick guard Sol Mercado, the high-flying Japeth Aguilar and of course, the fast and the furious – Mark Caguioa and Jayjay Helterbrand. Also, the winningest coach in the PBA with 18 championship titles and two grandslams under his name, Coach Tim Cone leads this team.
Another problem for the Bolts is that Brgy. Ginebra is the crowd favorite in the PBA. Who would not be pressured if 20,000 fans,just inside the coliseum, will be against you every single game?
But nevertheless, don’t count the Bolts out yet. They also have the likes of Cliff Hodge, Chris Newsome along with their veterans Jimmy Alapag and Reynel Hugnatan. Also, Norman Black, who is a known rival of Tim Cone, would be leading the team and will surely come up with the perfect plan to beat the crowd favorite Ginebra.
The Meralco Bolts have come a long way to just crumble down in their first appearance in the big stage. Surely they would be bringing their A-games and their will to win the title. For them, it does not matter that they are the underdog and their opponent is the crowd favorite. At the end of the day, it’s just two teams giving their best for the championship they have been chasing for a long time.
Coach Tim Cone has never beaten Coach Norman Black in a championship series. Will history repeat itself? Or are we going to see something new? We’ll find out, but one thing is for sure, this is gonna be a great and fun series to watch.
(written by Jacob Isais, edited by Jay Paul Carlos, additional research by Vince Alvin Villarin)