Coming off a break it really didn’t need, Meralco returns to PBA Commissioner’s Cup action on Wednesday against dangerous Phoenix Petroleum as the Bolts resume their drive for a top two berth in the playoffs.
After losing just one of their first seven games in handling a very tight schedule, the Bolts were forced into a 16-day hiatus because of the very successful All-Star break, something which coach Norman Black said they didn’t really want considering how good they were playing.
And whether rust crept in or the Bolts were able to get sharper after the breather will show in their 7 p.m. clash at Smart Araneta Coliseum with the Fuel Masters, a side that is jockeying for playoff position.
“I don’t know how it [long break] will affect us,” Black said, while acknowledging that the break allowed battered bodies to heal and heels to cool after playing their first seven games in less than five weeks.
“What I know is that we’re healthy and we’re ready [for the top two drive],” he added as do-it-all power forward Cliff Hodge returns for the Bolts. “But we have to be able to defend well.”
The Bolts’ only loss came at the hands of powerhouse San Miguel Beer more than a month ago, and Meralco is looking to extend a two-game winning streak that included a win over Alaska.
Alex Stepheson will again have a huge advantage in heft underneath, and Phoenix coach Ariel Vanguardia will try to neutralize the Bolts’ edge in the rebounding battle.
Stepheson is in the Top 10 of only one statistical department—rebounding—where he norms 22 boards a game, trailing Greg Smith of Blackwater.
“We have to be able to limit Stepheson’s rebounding,” Vanguardia said as he welcomes his own utility man—Willie Wilson—back in the lineup.
“He’s been the missing link for us,” Vanguardia said of Wilson, who sat out a number of games because of an injury.
Meanwhile, Blackwater and NLEX clash in the 4:15 p.m. contest looking to just stay alive at each other’s expense.
The Road Warriors, with a 0-7 record, are practically out of it all but will be looking to just salvage whatever hope is left in a conference that offered a lot of promise at the start when Wayne Chism signed up for a reunion with coach Yeng Guiao.