Several times when Meralco wins, Bong Quinto would emerge as Best Player of the Game.
A power forward in the collegiate ranks while he was still playing for Letran, Quinto had to adjust his game in the Philippine Basketball Association where he played as a swingman, but his transition didn’t come overnight as he would work on constantly.
“Sa practice lahat nagi-start lahat,” said Quinto. “Kung makikita mo ang practice namin, kahit sino sa amin puwedeng mag-best player.”
In Meralco’s latest win, an 86-83 win over Terrafirma, Quinto scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half while also pulling down seven rebounds.
Quinto had to let his game come to him, especially when he was struggling in the early goings.
“Medyo nagi-struggle nga kami offensively nung umpisa, so I started by playing good defense,” said Quinto. “Actually, lahat naman kami pare-pareho kami ng trabaho. Makuha lang namin yung rhythem namin sa depensa, yung offense susunod.”
The Bolts did exactly just that as they were able to come back from an 11-point deficit and pick up their third win in six games.
For Quinto, seeing Meralco getting back in the .500 win-loss mark gave had somehow boosted their confidence as a team.
“Kung natalo kami ngayon, hindi namin alam paano namin haharapin yung mga remaining games,” added Quinto. “Ngayon, mas may opportunity pa kaming makapag-practice at akuin yung sistema nina Coach Nenad (Vucinic) and Coach Luigi (Trillo). Magtiwala lang kami sa sistema, alam namin may patutunguhan kami.”
In beating Terrafirma, Meralco produced 47 points from players coming off the bench, 19 more than its counterpart.
