Meralco def San Miguel, 92-89 [PBA on Tour | June 10, 2023]

From Baliwag, Bulacan the previous Saturday, the PBA On Tour swings over to the southern part of Luzon, bringing the San Miguel Beer-Meralco tiff in Tiaong, Quezon.

The Bolts sport a 2-1 win-loss slate while the Beermen carry an even 2-2 mark going to this first-class municipality in the province of Quezon, 95 kilometers from Manila.

Allein Maliksi and his teammates clash with Terrence Romeo and his SMB pals in the 5 p.m. match at the Tiaong Convention Center, with the former looking to chalk up first successive triumphs and the latter out to bounce back from a loss to the Rain or Shine the last time out.

Maliksi scored 16 points while Cliff Hodge (14 points and 10 rebounds) and Raymond Almazan (11 and 14) had double-double numbers as the Bolts defeated the Converge FiberXers on Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

The next day, the Bolts had a dinner meeting with company chairman, president/CEO Manny V. Pangilinan and drew inspiration from MVP in their talks.

The team, now under coach Luigi Trillo and active team consultant Neanderthal Vucinic, is building on its achievements with coach Norman Black, hoping to finally hit the mountaintop sooner than later.

Trillo said Vucinic’s presence behind the scenes will be a factor in turning things around. Since entering the PBA in 2010-11, Meralco has made it to four Finals but never won a championship.