Bolts left to reflect on ‘unacceptable’ end to dismal conference

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

ANTIPOLO — Meralco captain Jared Dillinger didn’t hold anything back after the Bolts suffered their worst loss in franchise history at hands of the Star Hotshots on Saturday.

Already out of playoff contention, Meralco capped its nightmarish campaign in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup with a 47-point loss to Star, a beatdown that left Dillinger in disgust.

“It’s embarrassing. Ending the conference like this, whether we’re already out of the playoffs or not, is something that we cannot allow ourselves to come to the game and not be ready like that,” he said. “I understand that for Star, it’s a do-or-die game, but we’re professionals and we’re getting paid to play basketball. So whether it’s a non-bearing game or a do-or-die game, we have to play. This is our livelihood, this is our job and it’s unacceptable.”

READ: Star whips Meralco by 47 points to move closer to no. 2

“Gotta give a lot of credit to Star. They still have a chance for a twice-to-beat. They came out with a lot of desire. We basically had no chance of winning this conference, and we played like it,” said head coach Norman Black of his team, who never led and trailed by as much as 55 points.

The 33-year-old swingman didn’t spare himself from his criticisms in assessing the team’s struggles throughout the conference especially this game.

Dillinger said the players, himself included, need to have a sense of accountability for the team to grow and move forward.

READ: Meralco Bolts sign Chris Lutz

“Something like this, it’s gonna stick all the way up to the next conference. And this is the second year in a row in the all-Filipino that we finished dead last. We have to look ourselves in the mirror and see if this is something that we wanna do,” he said. “We come to a game like this and lose by 40 plus, it says something and it just goes back to us. We’re gonna have to stick together, we’re gonna have to work hard. This whole thing is unacceptable.”

“It’s a collection, it’s not one or two guys, it’s everyone. For this game, it was the first five. The starters who were out there, they didn’t come out to play and that set the tone. And that’s something we need to be accountable for,” Dillinger, who started the game and had as many points as turnovers with four, added.

But Dillinger stressed no one is to blame for the Bolts’ listless performance but themselves.

READ: Black wants more from Dillinger

“Now is not the time to be pointing fingers. It all starts with looking at yourself first. What did you do, what did you not do that could’ve helped the team get better. I think that’s what we need to do,” Dillinger said. “We need to look at ourselves first before trying to point fingers and thinking, ‘Oh it’s this guy’s fault or this is why we lost.’ It’s about taking accountability and looking at yourself.”

Dillinger hopes Meralco will take such a humiliating setback hard and use it as motivation to bounce back next conference.

“If there are guys in there who don’t care about losing like that, it will blow on the team. Plain and simple.”