By REYNALD MAGALLON
When Meralco pulled the rug from under the mighty San Miguel for the second time in the conference to draw first blood in their best-of-seven PBA Philippine Cup Finals, everyone displayed wild reactions.
The SMB fans were eerily silent clueless what hit their very dominant team. Even the Beermen had an air of disappointment around them as they headed to the Big Dome tunnel.
Meralco fans, on the other hand, were running wild and cheering on top of their lungs as the final buzzer sounded after their team picked up the victory that they only hoped for but never really expected.
But not the Bolts.
As Meralco players retreated to the dugout after the 93-86 Game 1win, there was no wild reactions and celebrations. They acted pretty normal for a win in the Finals where the Bolts were pegged as the heavy underdogs and no one outside of their circle can confidently say that they could take Game 1.
The Bolts were hardly shocked by the win as if they really expected the outcome to be like that even when the overwhelming odds are stacked against them.
Simply put, Meralco believed.
“You really have to believe that you can get something done and you can accomplish something special as a group despite all the odds that are against you,” said Meralco captain Chris Newsome who poured 13 of his 18 points in the pivotal second half for the Bolts.
Looking back, Meralco was no stranger to facing odds and being doubted if they could ever pull through. At one point in the conference, the Bolts seemingly hit rock bottom after falling to a then-lowly Converge team which was in the middle of a 12-game losing streak.
From there, almost everyone counted the Bolts out after sliding to a 3-5 record.
“This team went through a lot of adversity to get to where we’re at right now. I believe that adversity made us stronger. You could look back when we dropped that game to Converge, everybody thought we were out,” recalled Newsome.
But somehow, Meralco found their way out of the misfortunes and closed out the eliminations with a three-game winning run including the sweep stopping 95-92 victory over San Miguel.
Even in the semifinals against Barangay Ginebra, Meralco fell to a 2-3 disadvantage in the series only to win the next two games to turn the tables and notch their breakthrough PH Cup finals appearance.
And again in all of those instances, Meralco simply believed.
That they can do it. That they can get over the hump.
“It was our guys, the guys in our locker room, our organization that believed we could do it. That’s why you see the signs out there that say ‘believe’ because that’s something that we really embody,” shared Newsome.
The Beermen were on a high heading into the Finals after a five-game winning streak in the playoffs highlighted by a series sweep of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the semifinals.
SMB’s firepower was in full display, scoring beyond 100 points in the victories and June Mar Fajardo was simply unstoppable.
In Game 1, Meralco defense held SMB below 90 points – the first time in this conference. Fajardo had his usual numbers of 23 points and 10 rebounds, but he was made to bleed for every point he scored.
It was a night that no one could ever imagine especially with how dominant the Beermen were. But the Bolts had that pictured in their minds because they believed they could do it.
“We’re just here to represent all the people that have been doubted many times in their lives and their careers. We just want to continue to encourage you to believe in what you’re doing and eventually, good things will happen,” said Newsome.
