Just when you thought the PBA had run out of comeback stories, Meralco wrote one with a scintillating seven-game winning streak to barely make it to the quarterfinals by edging out Phoenix, which had a twice to beat playoff advantage, and winning the opener of their best-of-five semifinal series against Alaska.
The Bolts-Aces duel should be quite a series as both teams match up well in every position. The guard duels featuring the now extremely confident Baser Amer of the Bolts and veterans JVee Casio and Chris Banchero of the Aces will set the tone. Meralco will have to deal with the prolific Vic Manuel who can score quickly coming off the bench.
The import battle will feature the Bolts’ tireless Allen Durham and the creative Mike Harris. On first look, it appears that both imports will cancel out each other and therefore attention will shift to the rest of the frontliners.
Meralco will have to deal with the prolific Vic Manuel who can score quickly off the bench while Alaska will have its hands full boxing out the Bolts’ industrious leapers who fight for every rebound.
The Bolts were probably motivated early on by survival and then later on by the desire to try again to make it to the Governors’ Cup finals. The stint in the Fiba Asian Cup, despite all the difficulties because of player injuries and restrictions, augured well for Meralco because the team learned to elevate their game without their main weapons.
The Bolts have been stopped twice by the Ginebra Gin Kings in the championship and a yearning to meet the Barangay again can be a strong motivational push. As to whether a repeat of that finals matchup happens remains to be seen. Ginebra has already a bump in the road as the Magnolia Hotshots drew first blood in their series that started on Saturday. (Game 2 was ongoing at press time.)
The challenge of this conference will be how teams will manage their resources given the length of the season and its wear and tear on the physical and mental faculties of the players.
The upcoming Fiba World Qualifying break can either provide rest for players who aren’t part of the pool or a dipping of energy and focus by the competing playoff teams.
Despite the clear power shift in the league with Blackwater Elite and Phoenix coming up with sterling conference runs, the playoffs are still the domain of the experienced squads. Meralco proved that with the comeback that many thought would never happen.