Sol Mercado received high praises from head coach Tim Cone following his commendable performance in the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s semifinal-clinching 99-91 victory over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, Wednesday night.
The Sol Train scattered 10 markers, six rebounds, and five assists, indeed another solid outing from him, as he produced 13 points, three boards, and three feeds back in Game One last Monday, where they also won, 88-80.
“I think the unsung hero really was Sol Mercado in the series,” shared the multi-titled bench strategist. “He started both games, played big in both games, had big shots, big stops.
“Whenever someone starts hurting us, like [Maverick] Ahanmisi or [Ed] Daquioag or whatever, we’ll just say, ‘Okay, Sol, you get him.’ And then Sol would do the job on them, so that was a true luxury having him.”
Mercado was immensely flattered.
“It’s a huge compliment,” he said. “He put me in the starting lineup and put a lot of responsibility on me on both ends of the floor.
“I’m just trying to stay ready for when he calls my number and [to] do whatever I can to help the team win.”
What makes these outings hard to ignore is the fact that Mercado had only returned to Ginebra’s rotation only recently in this 2018 Philippine Cup due to a hurt ankle, which he incurred back in the 2017 Governors’ Cup Finals.
“It took me a while to get my rhythm and my timing back. I’ve never been out that long. I was out for like three months. It took me a while to get my shape and my timing in,” said the 33-year-old.
“But I feel like it’s coming back at the right time.”
Now, Mercado sets his sights on their best-of-seven semifinals clash with reigning, three-time All-Filipino champions San Miguel Beermen later this week, whom they faced in last season’s Philippine Cup Finals and lost.
“Probably be the toughest series yet. They’re the what? Three-time defending champions? I mean, we’re gonna have to clearly take it one game at a time and bring our A-game every single game,” said the eighth-year pro.
“It’s a matchup with their whole team. We can’t just worry about [somebody]. We gotta worry about everybody.”
