PBA: With team effort, Meralco gets past longtime tormentor Ginebra

Meralco Bolts’ coach Luigi Trillo during Game 7 of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals against GInebra Gin KIngs. –PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines—Team effort was the battlecry of Meralco before Game 7 of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals.

And that was exactly the element that pushed the Bolts to the PBA Finals after defeating Ginebra, 78-69, at FPJ Arena in San Jose, Batangas, on Friday.

“Everybody picked up each other. Brandon (Bates) was huge [in] helping Raymond (Almazan). This guy (Chris Banchero) here carried the scoring load but there’re guys in our teams that were points of attack,” said an ecstatic coach Luigi Trillo.

READ: Meralco eliminates Ginebra to set up PBA Finals duel vs San Miguel

“CB, New(some), Bong (Quinto) all kept their grounds. [There were] heroes all over and we’ll need everhbody again when we face San Miguel. We know they’re a deep team.”

Banchero was the main man with 24 points and six rebounds on an efficient 41 percent field goal shooting clip (10-of-24).

But that doesn’t mean that Banchero was the lone man on offense as the supporting cast of Meralco stepped up to down the Gin Kings in their final game of the conference.

READ: ‘Sana kami naman’: Meralco hopes to change the script vs Ginebra

Newsome made the most of his 42 minutes of action with 20 points and six assists. Quinto chipped in 10 in the dub but no one was more surprising than rookie Brandon Bates.

Bates finished with just six points but gave Meralco the intangibles with 13 rebounds and six monster blocks.

“Everybody on our team’s banged up. There was really no excuse. That was a tough series not only physically but mentally,” said a tired Banchero post-game.

“Our backs were against the wall, everybody was against us.”

Game 1 of the Finals between Meralco and San Miguel rolls on Wednesday at Araneta Coliseum.