When he arrived at Meralco last October, Allein Maliksi shared that his goal with the Bolts is to win a PBA title.
“Dito sa Meralco, gusto ko makapag-champion uli katulad nung nasa Purefoods franchise ako,” said Maliksi, a part of the San Mig Coffee Mixers team that won the Grand Slam in 2014.
Well, it looks like the 32-year-old gunslinger out of UST can turn that dream of his to reality.
On Monday night, the Bolts dispatched TNT KaTropa in Game Five of their semis clash to forge a title showdown with rivals Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the 2019 Governors’ Cup Finals.
It has been a while since Maliksi last played in the Finals. He last did so back in the 2014 edition of the season-ending meet, where the Mixers clinched the Triple Crown at Rain or Shine’s expense.
And that’s why the eight-year pro felt so elated to finally be back in the Big Dance after half a decade.
“After four years nakabalik. Siyempre masarap sa pakiramdam na andun ka na ulit, meron ka ulit chance na makapag-champion,'” said Maliksi moments after the match at Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Maliksi is indeed one of the veterans in this Bolts squad, and he has with him enough championship experience from his stint with the Tim Cone-mentored San Mig Coffee crew.
So he plans to share those experiences with the younger Orangemen such as Baser Amer and Chris Newsome.
“Lahat ng experiences ko and natutunan ko sa mga nangyari sa career ko, nadadala ko dito sa team namin and yung mga maitutulong ko sa team ko, ginagawa ko talaga as much as I can.” he said.
“Experiences na natutunan ko, pinapasa ko kila Baser, kila Newsome, paano nila maiaapply.”
