Over the last seven years, only four among the 12 competing teams in the Philippine Basketball Association were able to win championships prior to Meralco’s first ever title in Asia’s pioneering pro loop.
San Miguel Beer and Barangay Ginebra won five titles apiece, TNT captured two crowns and Magnolia was able to salvage one.
Count Meralco, which had been in the finals four times before beginning the 2016 season, from among the elite ranks as it bagged the elusive crown, the most prestigious championship that is the All-Filipino.
The Bolts outlasted the Beermen in six games of their best-of-seven championship series, becoming the second team under the MVP stable to win a championship.
Following Meralco’s first title in the PBA, the Bolts catapulted themselves from among the elite teams in the league now and head coach Luig Trillo in certain about it.
“The last eight conferences, make that nine now, we made seven semifinals. We had one championship. so I think that is so hard. People think about this and that and it’s really difficult to be on top there. There are about three or four teams that have always been there,” said Trillo during his podcast interview with The Link at Pinoystep.com.
“The last five years, there have always been four teams, dominated by two and a little bit by third and won by fourth. We joined the ranks now. Just like Rain or Shine before. It’s been very gratifying and it’s good for the PBA. We just have to be creative in continuing our progress and doing that moving forward.”
What made the championship a lot sweeter was winning the most prestigious crown and that means a lot for the organization that has been denied of championships by Barangay Ginebra four times in import-laden conferences.
“When we came out of that room for Game 6, we did a speech and I said ‘you know guys, the most prestigious conference is the All-Filipino, which you can say that you’re the best team in the nation’. We’re now the best team and we proved it. We went through everybody. We won and I think that has to stick in their minds,” added Trillo.
Meralco is savoring its championship now, but Trillo has his mind set for next season which will begin with the Governors’ Cup that will feature imports not standing taller than 6-foot-6.
Getting a quality reinforcement, according to Trillo, will be crucial for Meralco’s quest for another title run.
“Imports are great and I think they improved Philippine basketball. I’m looking at Japan, Taiwan, Korea and they have like three, four imports. You look at Europe and before there were no Americans and no outsiders to play there. Now, half of the team is from the US. You look at the NBA, the stars are Europeans. Basketball is a global thing. I think imports bring excitement and they make our guys better,” said Trillo.
“That one is also good and I’m looking forward to that. We always have to get a good import like Durham because we’re not as deep as the other teams. But we have some depth now, we have some talent and we have to be clever in terms of improving that. You’re consistently in the Final Four. Your draft picks move up. So we have to find ways in getting guys which we think are fit for Meralco. We look at players who are not just one way. We looked at them overall and tried to assess them in a lot of ways. We get guys like that.”
