Beermen, Bolts start with clean slate in PBA Philippine Cup finals

MANILA, Philippines -- “One game does not define a series.”

With the best-of-seven PBA Philippine Cup finals starting Wednesday, both the Meralco Bolts and San Miguel Beermen are moving on from the former’s win streak-busting win over the latter during the eliminations.

The red-hot Beermen, who won 10 elimination games, were gunning for a perfect elimination round. Meralco, though, had other plans, squeaking past the defending champions last month, 95-92, to record the only loss of San Miguel in the single round-robin phase.

Now, the two teams are meeting in the best-of-seven championship tipping off 7:30 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

During the finals press conference, Bolts head coach Luigi Trillo on Monday said that their win is already in the past.

“At the time, it was a must-win for us. We needed to win. Obviously, San Miguel was undefeated, 10-0, they were already sure number one. You could read they were in already, you could read that they were going for 11-0, but that’s the past,” he told reporters.

“You know, we’ve been through a lot of games in the PBA that we know that one game does not define a series. One thing I noticed about them is they’re gonna be ready, experienced and well-coached,” he added.

Beermen head coach Jorge Gallent, for his part, said he does not believe that Meralco’s win does not give the Bolts a psychological edge heading into the series.

“I don’t think so. When we were the only thing that happened there was… it was a game that our minds were [what’s] weak. You know, as what Coach Luigi said, their backs were on the wall because if they lost that game, they would not make the playoffs,” he said.

“So, you know, they really played hard and we also really played hard to try to get the sweep but it didn’t happen. So it’s just that, it’s done. We’ve learned from our mistakes in that game and we just have to get better with it.”

The Bolts barged into their first-ever All-Filipino cup finals after a grueling seven-game semifinals war against the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings.

San Miguel, on the other hand, swept the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in their final four play.

With the long break, Gallent acknowledged that the team may be rusty.

“We just prepared right after they won on Friday. So we just had three to four days to prepare against them. We’re kind of okay because in those 11 days, we did a lot of scrimmages,” he bared.

“Before they won, we did a lot of scrimmages and a lot of talking about what to do in case Ginebra or Meralco wins. So, we were kind of okay despite the 11-day break. But I’m just scared that we just might be rusty but we’ll see on Wednesday.”

The Beermen are aiming to win their 30th championship in the PBA, while the Bolts are seeking their first PBA title in five finals appearances.