Brandon Bates is slowly earning back his significant role in Meralco rotation since his return from injury in the ongoing Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup.
The big man showed a glimpse of his old form with a defensive masterclass in the Bolts’ 105-91 victory over NLEX Friday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Bates was active defensively, swatting away four Road Warriors attempts that set the tone for Meralco’s comeback from 10 points down to grab its fifth win in eight games.
“I think Brandon was a revelation today,” Bolts coach Luigi Trillo said of his second year player that delivered off the bench as reliever for starter Cliff Hodge.
“I love Cliff, I love the way he plays. But Cliff’s a bruised and battered guy. We’re using him too much.”
Bates played almost perfect basketball, sinking all of his four field goal attempts, grabbing seven rebounds and added one assist in almost 25 minutes of play in his third game back.
“Part of our development as a team is when we can use our bigs. We have a number of bigs, we have Brandon, Raymond (Almazan), Norbert (Torres), Kyle (Pascual), Toto (Jose). But Brandon I think set the tone. In the first half he was plus-17, so I think he ended the game plus-32. So, that’s incredible stats,” Trillo said.
Bates has been averaging 1.6 blocks per game in the mid-season conference, anchoring the Bolts defense inside the paint. His presence and offensive threat down low also attract the defense away from prolific import Akil Mitchell.
“Akil (Mitchell) is our player of the game but I think just the way we play our concepts, our defense it’s nice to see Brandon like that,” Trillo added.
Bates played an instrumental role in Meralco’s breakthrough championship in last year’s Philippine Cup as the De La Salle University product held his own against no less than San Miguel Beer behemoth and eight-time Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo.
“He was dominant. That’s the Brandon of old in the finals when we won (the Philippine Cup), that’s what he’s been doing,” Trillo said.
With a healthier lineup after getting bit hard by the injury bug last month, the Meralco mentor is happy to see other players stepping up and doing their part for the cause.
“You know here when it comes to a series, playoffs sometimes you need depth and it’s a big help for us,” he said.