After a spectacular playoff run during the Governors’ Cup, the Meralco Bolts rewarded Nico Salva with a two-year extension.
And during the first day of his new contract, the six-year pro delivered, finishing with a career-best 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting to go along with nine rebounds, five rebounds, and two steals.
“It’s really an answered prayer. I waited for this for a long time.
“There were times na nagda-doubt ako, but I just stayed consistent with my work and I just kept on praying. And thank God na nabibigyan ng chance ngayon,” confessed Salva, who struggled in his first four years as a pro.
Despite his best efforts, however, Salva could not lift the Bolts past the Phoenix Fuel Masters in their PBA Season 44 debut. Meralco suffered a 92-93 overtime heartbreak.
Salva could not help but rue the huge rebounding discrepancy (77-54), the most painful of which came with six seconds left – the Bolts could not box out Calvin Abueva, who knocked down the game-winning putback.
“We came out short. We just needed one rebound. We were out-rebounded the whole game. That’s what the coaches told us before the game – ‘Rebound well, you win the game’,” shared the 6-foot-4 scorer.
“We have to do a better job rebounding.”
Still, Salva knows that there is still a long way to go. And he vows to continue to play on with the same effort, night in and night out.
“I’ll do my best. Every game naman I just wanna help my team, not just for myself but play to honor and glorify God.”
