Brandon Bates could only celebrate briefly his momentous victory over Christian Standhardinger and Barangay Ginebra as he has a bigger task at hand in the PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven championship series — seven-time Most Valuable player June Mar Fajardo and the San Miguel Beermen.
“I never enjoyed this success ever since I played in Australia, but beating Ginebra and Christian Standhardinger was definitely a surreal moment for me,” said Bates.
Picked No.9 in this year’s Rookie Draft, Bates gradually immersed into the system of Meralco, but once he found himself was comfortable playing his role with the team, he became a key contributor to the team.
“I know I’m not gonna be the scorer. I know my role and willing to play that role for my team and be able to help them any way I can,” added Bates.
Head coach Luigi Trillo felt fortunate to be able to secure the services of Bates even though they were selecting late in the Draft.
“He just kinda fell into our laps,” added Trillo. “Now, he’s playing a valuable role for us.”
But while Bates felt surreal, winning over Ginebra, the Bolts organization were also relieved that the monkey is now off their backs after beating the Gin Kings for the first time in the championship series.
The newcomer will face his biggest test in his young PBA career in battling Fajardo and the Beermen.
The Beermen are the reigning champions of the Philippine Cup, who are also looking to close out, sweeping the championships at stake this season.
Last conference, San Miguel defeated Magnolia to win the Governors’ Cup in six games.
Bates feels no pressure, but felt blessed to be given an opportunity of vying for a championship just in his rookie season and there’s no fitting way to get even better than facing the best player in the PBA in Fajardo.
Of course, the Bolts will have an even more enjoyable moment winning it all and claiming their first ever championship in franchise history.
Four times, the Bolts were denied of that opportunity, losing all their finals matches agaunst Ginebra and after getting past its long time tormentors, Meralco is hoping it would toughen the team up for its championship showdown with the Beermen.
