Pride and honor served as the fuel that kept Meralco going when it pulled off a 97-85 win over the Macau Black Bears in the East Asia Super League Season 2 late Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Bolts head coach Luigi Trillo said they were extra motivated to win knowing that they are representing the country and playing before the local fans during the opening salvo of the prestigious regional tournament.

Trillo said they were able to perform their best as they are still in great shape following a grueling campaign in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) that ended when they bowed to Barangay Ginebra, 113-106, in Game 3 of their Governors’ Cup best-of-five series last Monday.

Aside from Meralco, San Miguel Beer also represents the country in the EASL. The Beermen, however, fell prey to the Suwon KT Sonicboom of Korea, 87-81.

“These are the best clubs in Asia so we have a responsibility not only to our families, not only to Meralco but we’re carrying the PBA’s name, we’re carrying the Philippines’ name,” said Trillo, who drew 18 points from Chris Newsome.

“We train hard. I mean, I think the advantage we have is we’re the best conditioned team, if I may say, to the point that, you know, we go at it in practice. I think that’s what led us to our championship last year when we came to push and shove with other teams.”

With the victory, Meralco has already matched its win from last season, where it finished with a 1-5 win-loss record in fourth place.

Now, the Bolts want to get a crack at the EASL semifinals as it aims at one of the top two spots in Group B.

But realizing their goal will not be easy as they still have to get past Japan B.League team Ryukyu Golden Kings, Korean Basketball League side Busan KCC Egis, and P.League+ squad New Taipei Kings.

Trillo, however, kept his hopes high as they were able to include their reinforcements in DJ Kennedy and Ange Kouame to their training even before the start of the tournament.

“This year, we are better because we know a little bit more about the EASL,” Trillo said.

“The good thing about DJ, he is a little bit like Brownlee in a sense. He plays a little bit like New (Newsome) where he makes the right decisions all the time, he plays on both ends of the floor. DJ, you can put him 1 to 4 just like New. So there’s points of attack.”

Newsome said they are ready to give their all as they seek to become the first Filipino side to lift the EASL trophy.

“We’re here to win. Plain and simple. Last year, it was a test for us to kind of feel what the EASL is all about. This year, we’re coming to win,” Newsome said.

“We have a lot of guys who are capable of stepping up. We love playing team basketball, everybody chipped in.”