Meralco on Friday just lost to the same team it beat twice in a row to advance to the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup semifinals during the last Yuletide.
But making it far worse to fathom for the Bolts was the fact that they bowed to a Rain or Shine team that competed without an import, ultimately leading to their first defeat of the freshly opened Commissioner’s Cup after a 2-0 start.
“May lamat ‘yon because we beat them twice-to-beat last conference, right?” recalled head coach Luigi Trillo moments after their 109-102 loss.
It was actually a clash for the lead as both squads carried similar records, although Meralco was perceived as a heavy favorite given the predicament of the opposition, who had to make do without the versatile Jaylen Johnson.
The sweet-shooting big man had to serve the one-game suspension he incurred for his fistfight with Glenn Khobuntin in their eventual win over TNT last week, thus reducing the squad of Coach Yeng Guiao to an all-local unit.
The Bolts, on the other hand, had Marvin Jones, who averaged 22.0 points and 11.5 rebounds in their conquests of Converge and Phoenix, in that order,
Jones did well especially during the first half versus Rain or Shine with 17 points, but was no longer a factor afterward as he was held scoreless in the final two quarters
He shot 7-of-17 from the floor, although the lanky forward tried to make up for it by collecting 16 rebounds and three assists, but it still wasn’t enough.
(C) PBA Images
“Marvin had 17 in the first half. He did well. In the second half, he had zero,” said Trillo as they didn’t see the same Jones that helped close the game out against the FiberXers, who led to a 109-88 victory for a successful conference debut.
None from Meralco, though, is pointing fingers at anyone, with the chief bench tactician pointing out the ‘lethargic’ start his charges had, which saw the crew allow the opposition to go 6-of-12 from three for a 29-23 lead.
That sluggish start of theirs, furthermore, enabled the Elasto Painters to garner enough momentum to build a 17-point lead in the second chapter, 45-28.
“First quarter pa lang, wala na. Parang lethargic kami,” he lamented. “We lost the rebounds, I think six offensive rebounds, kami 0. So 18-9 kaagad ‘yun to start the game like that. They got six out of 12 threes, they had 29 points.
“It’s like the court was wide open. When you start the game like that, it’s not gonna be good.”
In fairness, they did threaten during the fourth quarter by cutting the gap to a point twice, the last of which was at 95-94 with 5:09 remaining.
But Trillo rued the defensive breakdowns his men committed, particularly those that led to a Luis Villegas three and an unmolested Felix Lemetti layup–both of which sparked an 11-0 run for a 106-94 Rain or Shine lead that put it away.
“Andun na eh. We’re by one, and then they made big shots. And the big shots to me, that three-pointer, and the drive in the end,” he said. “That’s breakdowns sa defense.
“If you’re losing defensively, dahil nakakashoot sila, OK, pero may breakdowns kami roon.”
It wasn’t just those breakdowns that irked Trillo but rather the lack of effort they had as a whole, which led to Lemetti, Nocum, and Jhonard Clarito finish in double digits–a total of five E-Painters actually did in the win.
“If we are happy with that game, we should be ashamed of ourselves,” he said. “You just can’t come in there and just play basketball and have fun. You have to know your opponent; you have to take away their strengths.
“Pasugod lang sila. Lemetti got down there, Nocum got down there, Clarito got down there. Alam mo nang pasugod eh, so how do you defend that? We didn’t do a good job of staying in front. We opened it and they got drives.”
Now, it’s all on the rest of Meralco to turn things around quickly as it braces for another tough outing this Sunday, where it will take on Titan Ultra.
“No excuses. That’s on us.”
#WATCH: MAY LAMAT ‘YUN 🏀
Luigi Trillo knew going in that Rain or Shine, even without an import, would be looking for revenge against Meralco#ReadMore 👉 https://t.co/58S0LqfySe
📹 @justinebacnis /Tiebreaker Times pic.twitter.com/RreA6z1ro0
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) March 27, 2026
