Meralco zapped Terrafirma, 124-82, as it sealed the second seed in Group A of the Philippine Basketball Association Governors' Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Saturday evening.
Alvin Pasaol erupted for 21 points, while rookie CJ Cansino dropped 15 points as the Bolts held the second seed with a 7-3 win-loss record.
Meralco head coach Luigi Trillo lauded the squad's readiness, despite the Dyip not fielding Christian Standhardinger, Juami Tiongson, and Stanley Pringle due to injuries.
"I thought we were also sharp but if you think about it, there's no Stanhardinger, no Pringle so they have a lot of injuries on that side too," Trillo said.
"What was nice was whoever came in contributed, and in fairness to the team, they were sharp."
Antonio Hester dropped a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, as Terrafirma finished the elimination round at the bottom of Group A with a 1-9 record.
In the first game, Blackwater kept its playoff hopes alive with a 111-94 win over San Miguel Beer.
Bossing import George King poured out 49 points and 11 rebounds, tying Blackwater with NLEX for fourth place in Group B, with identical 4-5 records.
Blackwater has to win its final game of the elimination round against Rain Or Shine on 23 September and hope the Road Warriors lose to Barangay Ginebra San Miguel on Sunday to enter the quarterfinals.