[EXCLUSIVE] Despite securing the twice-to-beat advantage, Meralco Bolts head coach Luigi Trillo knows there is no room for complacency heading into the quarterfinals of the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup.
“All games are going to be hard. Nothing will be given to us here in the playoffs,” Trillo told DZRHTV as the Bolts prepare for a tough showdown against Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots on May 13 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Meralco closed the elimination round at fourth place with an 8-4 record, earning the twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals. But despite the strong finish, Trillo admitted the Bolts still have plenty to improve on after a shaky outing against Magnolia in their previous meeting.
“We didn't have a good 12 minutes in the first half. We were down 15-36 at one point,” he recalled.
“Completely outplayed bigs, guards, and we allowed Magnolia to score at us whenever they wanted to because of our lack of awareness and effort to do things.”
The veteran tactician emphasized that Meralco must quickly regroup and bring a much better performance come playoff time.
“We can play much better than that. We have to,” he stressed.
The upcoming quarterfinal appearance also marks another milestone for the Bolts franchise, as this will be their sixth straight conference reaching the playoffs dating back to the 2022-2023 PBA Season 47 Governor’s Cup.
