Meralco Bolts’ Allein Maliksi in during Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—In a game where the Meralco Bolts needed not to be gun-shy, veteran shooter Allein Maliksi proved the perfect man for the job.
Riding Maliksi’s hot hands, the Bolts broke a deadlock in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals and moved just a win away from getting the franchise’s first league title.
Maliksi became the bearer of bad news for San Miguel as he finished with 22 points and five rebounds in only 26 minutes of action.
READ: Meralco on brink of first PBA title after Game 5 win over San Miguel
After figuring in a string of cold shooting slumps in the Finals, Maliksi became “more assetive” on offense in hopes of lightening the load for his fellow Bolts.
“I was asking plays for myself,” said Maliksi at Araneta Coliseum on Friday after their 92-88 win over the Beermen in Game 5.
“I was more assertive in calling plays for myself. I want to always be involved. I just continued to find my touches because I really needed to step up because they (Bolts) already did. It was my turn [tonight].”
HIGHLIGHTS: PBA Finals Game 5 San Miguel vs Meralco
In the veteran gunslinger’s stellar night, Maliksi registered an efficient 58 percent field goal shooting clip, sinking 10 of his 17 tries from the field.
No performance is perfect, however, and even Maliksi knows that to be true.
He lamented how San Miguel was always just a step behind in such a crucial game in the best-of-seven clash.
Thankfully, he and the Bolts had composure in their arsenal which avoided any hopes of a Beermen rally in the dying seconds of the game.
“For me, it was just our composure,” Maliksi said. “We needed to answer on defense. That was our focus. All of us have to be on our toes on defense. On the offense, we’re packed. We have no problem.”
The Bolts look to close out the series and make history on Sunday at the same venue at 6:15 pm.