Meralco bracing for ‘exciting semis’

Meralco knows taking down TNT is no easy task, even on an equal field.

The Bolts would like to believe that the longer the best-of-seven semifinals series drags, the better their chances of securing a return to the championship round of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Philippine Cup.

“We know what we’re up against. It’s going to be an exciting semis,” Chris Newsome said as Meralco gears up for Game 1 on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Bolts returned to the Final Four for the first time since winning a breakthrough crown in the all-Filipino Conference in 2014.

Meralco used a backdoor entry to the semis after eliminating twice-to-beat Rain or Shine, capped by Newsome’s 18-point explosion in a 98-89 decider last Monday.

It will be the third semis meeting for the sister teams, with the Bolts holding a 2-1 head-to-head lead. However, it was the Tropang 5G that prevailed in their last Final Four showdown back in the 2022-2023 Governors’ Cup.

But the Bolts are confident they can go toe-to-toe against a team that has been in the finals of the last three conferences.

“So, the semis, I definitely feel like it’s going to be a great matchup. But for us, it’s just tackling one game at a time,” Newsome said.

“Focus on Game 1 first, and then we’ll go from there. But I think we have enough playoff experience to get the job done,” he added.

“And we know this is going to be a marathon and not a sprint.”

The season-opening tournament has been a challenging and exhausting one for the Bolts, who concurrently played in the East Asia Super League.

“Just proud of the resiliency. We didn’t start out well. And then we were 3-4. We had to win three straight. This is special,” Meralco coach Luigi Trillo said.

“But right now, in front of us is Talk ‘N Text. They’ve had their number quite a lot. Last year, they won two championships. Very, very solid,” he added.

Trillo will face decorated TNT mentor Chot Reyes in the penultimate round for the first time since taking over the reins in late 2023.