2025 PBA PHILIPPINE CUP STATS | MERALCO BOLTS

Last season, the Meralco Bolts shocked the league by showing that you don’t need a star-studded lineup to win big—just smart drafting, hard-nosed defense, and players who buy in. Much like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Meralco made the most out of its pieces. But this year, the story took a different turn.

With Allein Maliksi still out and young gun Kurt Reyson sidelined by injury, the Bolts struggled to rack up wins. Still, they clawed their way into the quarterfinals behind the leadership of Chris Newsome, the scoring of Chris Banchero, the versatility of Bong Quinto, and the relentless hustle of Cliff Hodge. Rookie CJ Cansino also stepped up, while Aaron Black and Raymond Almazan held down key bench roles.

Meralco finished in a three-way tie for sixth with TNT and Rain or Shine, but tiebreakers placed them eighth overall, setting up a twice-to-beat disadvantage against top-seed San Miguel.

And just like their early-season clash, the Beermen handled them with a comfortable double-digit win, snuffing out Meralco’s bid for back-to-back Philippine Cup glory.

2025 PBA PHILIPPINE CUP STATS | MERALCO BOLTS