TOUGH TASK
Teetering on the brink of elimination, the Meralco Bolts set out for their game against the San Miguel Beermen Saturday with a simple game plan.
“The game plan is to do whatever it takes for us to salvage our conference,” said Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio.
The Beermen pursue their bid for a spot in the Top Four while the Bolts fight for survival as they clash in a Petron Blaze Saturday Special in the PLDT Home Telpad PBA Governors’ Cup at the Xavier University Gym in Cagayan de Oro City.
“All is not lost. We can still make it, but we have to start winning,” said Gregorio.
San Miguel Beer (4-2) is three full games ahead of Meralco (1-5) in the team standings but coach Biboy Ravanes said they would not take the Bolts for granted.
“Meralco’s record does not define who they are. They have a dominant import and Mike Cortez has adjusted well in his comeback,” said Ravanes.
“We want to ride our momentum from last game, start strong and solidify our current ranking,” Ravanes also said.
The Beermen are in a tight battle with the San Mig Super Coffee Mixers, the Barangay Ginebra Kings, the Talk n Text Tropang Texters and the Air21 Express for the Top Four while the Bolts are slugging it out with the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, the Alaska Aces, the GlobalPort Batang Pier and the Barako Bull Energy for the last slots in the quarterfinals.
The Bolts are now in a virtual must-win situation.
The problem is that they face a team that they haven’t beaten all season long.
“San Miguel is a complete team. They have a solid inside-outside game. We must neutralize (June Mar) Fajardo’s dominating presence in the paint and lower the field goal accuracy of (Reggie) Williams. Easier said than done, but that is our only chance,” said Gregorio.
“We are coming off a frustrating offensive meltdown. Defensively, we were okay. We just have to strike a solid balance on both ends of the floor,” Gregorio added. (SB)
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