Turnaround puts Bolts closer to finals stint

Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

TALK about turnarounds and Meralco just authored one of the best.

From being the first casualty in the PBA Philippine Cup, the Bolts got it together and on Monday night became the first team to make the Commissioner’s Cup’s Final Four, marking one of the best improvements shown by any team in years.

“I don’t exactly know what happened, but I love it,” Meralco board representative Al Panlilio told the Inquirer in jest recently after the Bolts finished No. 2 in the eliminations for the franchise’s first twice-to-beat privilege in history.

“But seriously, I think the turnaround further highlights what we really lack in the team in the all-Filipino—a dominant center,” Panlilio went on. “And coach Norman (Black) knows just how to maximize the talent of our import (Arinze Onuaku).”

Meralco won just one of 11 games in the all-Filipino and bombed out early. The Bolts then opened up the second conference with five straight wins to equal a franchise best mark and only lost top ranking after the tiebreak with San Miguel Beer at 8-3.

Right now, the challenge for the Bolts is to make a title series for the first time, and that would mean going through either sister team Tropang TNT or Alaska in the best-of-five semifinals.