Meralco aims to sustain power

Games today:

(Philsports Arena)

5 p.m. — Terrafirma vs Phoenix

7:30 p.m. — Meralco vs TNT

Sustaining its power will be the order of business when Meralco battles TNT Tropang Giga in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup today at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

Game time is at 7:30 p.m. with the Bolts looking to sustain the momentum they gained from a masterful 88-83 win over Hong Kong Eastern in the league’s resumption last Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Import Akil Mitchell was at the forefront of the assault after dropping a double-double game of 31 points and 14 rebounds to give Meralco its fourth win in six matches.

Meralco head coach Luigi Trillo said he is happy with their performance to start the year, especially with the return of locals Chris Banchero, Raymond Almazan, CJ Cansino and Brandon Bates.

“I thought our guys were tough today, chasing off screens, bigs having to stay high, execute our pick-and-roll defense and having to move back and defend,” Trillo said.

“This type of games we live for because it shows our character. When you lose two games, it’s easy to pinpoint and finger-push but I thought they were great.”

The Bolts will have the momentum on their side when they battle the Tropang Giga, who last played on 19 December — a 109-93 win over Blackwater.

While the Tropang Giga are currently in seventh place with a 2-2 record, they will be marching in full force after veterans Jayson Castro, Poy Erram, and import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson expected to be fully recover from their minor injuries.

After a rocky start with two straight losses, TNT head coach Chot Reyes was thankful that they were able to take a much-needed break.

“If you noticed, he’s (Hollis-Jefferson) not 100 percent because he has a slight ankle sprain. Hopefully, this break helped him get better and recover,” Reyes said.

“It’s a good thing we had a long break to help us recover.”

Hollis-Jefferson is expected to carry the Tropang Giga anew after a near double-double of 22 points and nine rebounds against the Bossing.

Meanwhile, the Terrafirma Bossing and Phoenix Fuel Masters collide at 5 p.m.

Winless in their first seven games, the Bossing hope to finally get a victory at the expense of the Fuel Masters, who are equally struggling with a dismal 1-5 record.