2017–18 Meralco Bolts season

Basketball team season

2017–18 Meralco Bolts season
Head coach	Norman Black
Owner(s)	Manila Electric Company (an MVP group subsidiary)
Philippine Cup results
Record	4–7 (36.4%)
Place	11th
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Commissioner's Cup results
Record	7–4 (63.6%)
Place	4th
Playoff finish	Quarterfinalist (lost to Barangay Ginebra, 0–2)
Governors' Cup results
Record	5–6 (45.5%)
Place	7th
Playoff finish	Semifinalist (lost to Alaska, 1–3)
Meralco Bolts seasons
← 2016–17 2019 →

The 2017–18 Meralco Bolts season was the eighth season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Key dates

2017

October 29: The 2017 PBA draft took place in Midtown Atrium, Robinson Place Manila.^[1]

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	PBA D-League team	College
3	7	Jebb Bulawan	F	Philippines	Racal Tile Masters Team Batangas	Lyceum

Roster

Meralco Bolts roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Age
F/C	0	Faundo, Bryan	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1984–02–18	Letran
G	6	Tolomia, Mike	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1993–01–06	Far Eastern
F	7	Hodge, Cliff	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1988–02–03	Reedley
F	8	Salva, Nico	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	1990–03–08	Ateneo
G	9	Amer, Baser	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1992–09–29	San Beda
G/F	11	Newsome, Chris	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1990–06–25	Ateneo
F	12	Canaleta, KG	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1982–02–12	UE
G	13	Lanete, Garvo	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1989–02–13	San Beda
G	17	Caram, Anjo	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)	159 lb (72 kg)	1991–01–14	San Beda
C	18	Ballesteros, Jason	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1985–10–07	San Sebastian
G/F	20	Dillinger, Jared	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1984–01–06	Hawaiʻi
F/C	21	Hugnatan, Reynel (C)	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1978–11–03	Manila
F/C	25	Bono, Ken	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	280 lb (127 kg)	1984–07–19	Adamson
F	33	de Ocampo, Ranidel	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1981–12–08	Saint Francis of Assisi
F	45	Baracael, Mac	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1985–04–14	Far Eastern
F	81	Jamito, Jammer	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1990–09–01	St. Clare

Head coach

Norman Black

Assistant coach(es)

Ronnie Magsanoc (1st Assistant)
Gene Afable
Patrick Fran
Christopher Tan
Xavier Nunag
Luigi Trillo

Team manager

Paolo Trillo

Legend

(C) Team captain
(I) Import
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(IN) Inactive
(S) Suspended
(R) Rookie
(3x3) Assigned to 3x3 team

Injured

Philippine Cup

Eliminations

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	San Miguel Beermen	8	3	.727^[a]	—	Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals
2	Magnolia Hotshots	8	3	.727^[a]	—	Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals
3	Alaska Aces	7	4	.636	1	Best-of-three quarterfinals
4	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	6	5	.545^[b]	2
5	Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	6	5	.545^[b]	2
6	NLEX Road Warriors	6	5	.545^[b]	2
7	GlobalPort Batang Pier	5	6	.455^[c]	3	Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals
8	TNT KaTropa	5	6	.455^[c]	3	Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals
9	Phoenix Fuel Masters	5	6	.455^[c]	3
10	Blackwater Elite	5	6	.455^[c]	3
11	Meralco Bolts	4	7	.364	4
12	Kia Picanto	1	10	.091	7

Source: PBA.ph
Rules for classification: 1) winning percentage; 2) if two teams are tied, head to head record; if three or more teams are tied, head-to-head goal average (quotient), if tied for 8th, one-game playoff; 3) overall quotient 4) coin toss^[2]
Notes:

^ ^a ^b Head-to-head record: San Miguel 1–0 Magnolia
^ ^a ^b ^c Head-to-head quotient: Barangay Ginebra 1.03, Rain or Shine 1.02, NLEX 0.95
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Head-to-head quotient: GlobalPort 1.14, Phoenix 1.00, TNT 0.97, Blackwater 0.89; #8 seed playoff: TNT defeated Phoenix

Game log

2018 PBA Philippine Cup game log
Total: 4–7

December: 1–1

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
1	December 22	Blackwater	W 103–98	KG Canaleta (25)	Jason Ballesteros (12)	Baser Amer (12)	Cuneta Astrodome	1–0
2	December 27	San Miguel	L 97–103	Mike Tolomia (21)	Chris Newsome (13)	Baser Amer (9)	Ynares Center	1–1

January: 1–3

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
3	January 10	Alaska	L 98–103	Chris Newsome (23)	KG Canaleta (10)	Amer, Newsome (4)	Smart Araneta Coliseum	1–2
4	January 21	TNT	L 81–99	Baser Amer (20)	Amer, Ballesteros (6)	Baser Amer (6)	Ynares Center	1–3
5	January 24	Kia	W 105–76	KG Canaleta (17)	Chris Newsome (7)	Baser Amer (9)	Smart Araneta Coliseum	2–3
6	January 28	GlobalPort	L 88–107	Hugnatan, Newsome (17)	Cliff Hodge (8)	three players (3)	Smart Araneta Coliseum	2–4

February: 2–3

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
7	February 2	Rain or Shine	L 84–90	KG Canaleta (24)	Chris Newsome (11)	Chris Newsome (7)	Mall of Asia Arena	2–5
8	February 9	NLEX	L 85–87	Nico Salva (20)	Chris Newsome (10)	Chris Newsome (7)	Cuneta Astrodome	2–6
9	February 14	Phoenix	W 92–90	Garvo Lanete (24)	Jason Ballesteros (12)	Chris Newsome (5)	Smart Araneta Coliseum	3–6
10	February 18	Barangay Ginebra	W 84–82	Garvo Lanete (19)	Jason Ballesteros (17)	Chris Newsome (6)	Philippine Arena	4–6
11	February 24	Magnolia	L 65–94	Chris Newsome (13)	Jason Ballesteros (9)	Chris Newsome (3)	Xavier University Gym	4–7

Commissioner's Cup

Eliminations

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	9	2	.818	—	Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals
2	Alaska Aces	8	3	.727^[a]	1	Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals
3	TNT KaTropa	8	3	.727^[a]	1	Best-of-three quarterfinals
4	Meralco Bolts	7	4	.636	2
5	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	6	5	.545^[b]	3
6	San Miguel Beermen	6	5	.545^[b]	3
7	Magnolia Hotshots	6	5	.545^[b]	3	Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals
8	GlobalPort Batang Pier	5	6	.455	4	Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals
9	Columbian Dyip	4	7	.364^[c]	5
10	Phoenix Fuel Masters	4	7	.364^[c]	5
11	NLEX Road Warriors	2	9	.182	7
12	Blackwater Elite	1	10	.091	8

^ ^a ^b Head-to-head record: Alaska 1–0 TNT
^ ^a ^b ^c Head-to-head quotient: Barangay Ginebra 1.07, San Miguel 1.02, Magnolia 0.92
^ ^a ^b Head-to-head record: Columbian 1–0 Phoenix

Game log

2018 PBA Commissioner's Cup game log
Total: 7–4

April: 1–1

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
1	April 25	Columbian	W 116–103	Arinze Onuaku (30)	Arinze Onuaku (19)	Chris Newsome (7)	Smart Araneta Coliseum	1–0
2	April 27	GlobalPort	L 85–86	KG Canaleta (28)	Arinze Onuaku (14)	Baser Amer (8)	Smart Araneta Coliseum	1–1

May: 2–1

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
3	May 4	NLEX	W 106–90	Chris Newsome (30)	Arinze Onuaku (23)	Baser Amer (6)	Smart Araneta Coliseum	2–1
4	May 9	San Miguel	W 93–85	Baser Amer (28)	Arinze Onuaku (12)	Arinze Onuaku (8)	Mall of Asia Arena	3–1
5	May 18	Magnolia	L 79–81	Arinze Onuaku (23)	Arinze Onuaku (11)	Newsome, Onuaku (7)	Smart Araneta Coliseum	3–2
All-Star Break

June: 4–2

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
6	June 1	Barangay Ginebra	W 93–82	Arinze Onuaku (24)	Arinze Onuaku (23)	Anjo Caram (7)	Mall of Asia Arena	4–2
7	June 8	Phoenix	W 103–100 (OT)	KG Canaleta (30)	Arinze Onuaku (20)	Arinze Onuaku (10)	Smart Araneta Coliseum	5–2
8	June 15	Blackwater	W 102–75	Arinze Onuaku (17)	Arinze Onuaku (16)	Chris Newsome (6)	Mall of Asia Arena	6–2
9	June 17	Alaska	W 89–74	Chris Newsome (18)	Arinze Onuaku (23)	Chris Newsome (8)	Smart Araneta Coliseum	7–2
10	June 22	TNT	L 85–91	Chris Newsome (17)	Arinze Onuaku (11)	Hodge, Onuaku (4)	Smart Araneta Coliseum	7–3
11	June 24	Rain or Shine	L 99–106 (OT)	Chris Newsome (21)	Arinze Onuaku (11)	Chris Newsome (11)	Smart Araneta Coliseum	7–4

Playoffs

Bracket


Quarterfinals				Semifinals (Best-of-5)			Finals (Best-of-7)

(#1 twice-to-beat)

1	Rain or Shine	113	103

8	GlobalPort	114	97
				1	Rain or Shine	1
(Best-of-3)
				5	Barangay Ginebra	3
4	Meralco		0

5	Barangay Ginebra		2
							5	Barangay Ginebra	4
(#2 twice-to-beat)
							6	San Miguel	2
2	Alaska		89

7	Magnolia		78
				2	Alaska	1
(Best-of-3)
				6	San Miguel	3
3	TNT		0

6	San Miguel		2

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Game log

2018 PBA Commissioner's Cup playoffs game log
Total: 0–2

Quarterfinals: 0–2

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	July 9	Barangay Ginebra	L 81–88	Baser Amer (15)	Arinze Onuaku (18)	Chris Newsome (7)	Smart Araneta Coliseum	0–1
2	July 11	Barangay Ginebra	L 90–104	Arinze Onuaku (21)	Arinze Onuaku (13)	Amer, Newsome (4)	Smart Araneta Coliseum	0–2

Governors' Cup

Eliminations

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	9	2	.818	—	Twice-to-beat in quarterfinals
2	Phoenix Fuel Masters	8	3	.727^[a]	1
3	Alaska Aces	8	3	.727^[a]	1
4	Magnolia Hotshots	8	3	.727^[a]	1
5	Blackwater Elite	7	4	.636	2	Twice-to-win in quarterfinals
6	San Miguel Beermen	6	5	.545	3
7	Meralco Bolts	5	6	.455^[b]	4
8	NLEX Road Warriors	5	6	.455^[b]	4
9	TNT KaTropa	4	7	.364	5
10	Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	3	8	.273	6
11	NorthPort Batang Pier	2	9	.182	7
12	Columbian Dyip	1	10	.091	8

Source: PBA.ph
Rules for classification: 1) winning percentage; 2) if two teams are tied, head-to-head record; if three or more teams are tied, head-to-head goal average (quotient); 3) overall quotient 4) coin toss^[2]
Notes:

^ ^a ^b ^c Head-to-head quotient: Phoenix 1.011, Alaska 1.006, Magnolia 0.982
^ ^a ^b Head-to-head record: Meralco 1–0 NLEX

Game log

2018 PBA Governors' Cup game log
Total: 5–6

August: 1–2

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
1	August 17	Columbian	W 109–106	Allen Durham (26)	Allen Durham (20)	Allen Durham (9)	Ynares Center	1–0
2	August 19	TNT	L 90–92	Allen Durham (27)	Allen Durham (22)	Allen Durham (8)	Ynares Center	1–1
3	August 24	Alaska	L 72–80	Allen Durham (21)	Allen Durham (11)	Baser Amer (5)	Mall of Asia Arena	1–2

September: 0–1

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
4	September 19	Phoenix	L 86–96	Chris Newsome (18)	Allen Durham (13)	Allen Durham (9)	Smart Araneta Coliseum	1–3

October: 3–3

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
5	October 5	Blackwater	L 91–94	Allen Durham (32)	Allen Durham (21)	Allen Durham (6)	Smart Araneta Coliseum	1–4
6	October 7	Barangay Ginebra	L 105–111	Allen Durham (36)	Allen Durham (16)	Allen Durham (9)	Sta. Rosa Multi-Purpose Complex	1–5
7	October 12	NorthPort	L 94–99	Allen Durham (37)	Allen Durham (19)	Allen Durham (7)	Mall of Asia Arena	1–6
8	October 14	NLEX	W 108–105	Allen Durham (36)	Allen Durham (18)	Chris Newsome (9)	Smart Araneta Coliseum	2–6
9	October 19	Magnolia	W 94–88	Allen Durham (20)	Allen Durham (18)	Durham, Newsome (8)	Ynares Center	3–6
10	October 21	Rain or Shine	W 91–82	Allen Durham (19)	Allen Durham (20)	three players (6)	Smart Araneta Coliseum	4–6

November: 1–0

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
11	November 3	San Miguel	W 111–81	Allen Durham (35)	Allen Durham (26)	Chris Newsome (12)	Smart Araneta Coliseum	5–6

Playoffs

Bracket


Quarterfinals				Semifinals (Best-of-5)			Finals (Best-of-7)

(#1 twice-to-beat)

1	Barangay Ginebra		111

8	NLEX		75
				1	Barangay Ginebra	1
(#4 twice-to-beat)
				4	Magnolia	3
4	Magnolia		103

5	Blackwater		99
							4	Magnolia	4
(#2 twice-to-beat)
							3	Alaska	2
2	Phoenix	74	103

7	Meralco	90	108*
				7	Meralco	1
(#3 twice-to-beat)
				3	Alaska	3
3	Alaska		96

6	San Miguel		85

*Game went into overtime.

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Game log

2018 PBA Governors' Cup playoffs game log
Total: 3–3

Quarterfinals: 2–0

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	November 7	Phoenix	W 90–74	Allen Durham (26)	Allen Durham (16)	Baser Amer (6)	Cuneta Astrodome	1–0
2	November 9	Phoenix	W 108–103 (OT)	Allen Durham (32)	Allen Durham (21)	Allen Durham (9)	Smart Araneta Coliseum	2–0

Semifinals: 1–3

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	November 11	Alaska	W 97–92	Allen Durham (32)	Allen Durham (14)	Allen Durham (6)	Ynares Center	1–0
2	November 13	Alaska	L 95–100	Allen Durham (24)	Allen Durham (9)	Allen Durham (12)	Mall of Asia Arena	1–1
3	November 15	Alaska	L 102–104	Allen Durham (37)	Allen Durham (13)	Allen Durham (8)	Cuneta Astrodome	1–2
4	November 17	Alaska	L 92–99	Allen Durham (31)	Allen Durham (14)	Chris Newsome (7)	Cuneta Astrodome	1–3

FIBA Asia Champions Cup

The Bolts were chosen as the Philippine representative to the 2018 FIBA Asia Champions Cup.

Preliminary round

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Alvark Tokyo	3	3	0	279	249	+30	6	Final round
2	Meralco Bolts	3	1	2	261	247	+14	4^[a]	Final round
3	Mono Vampire (H)	3	1	2	300	306	−6	4^[a]	Classification round
4	Al Riyadi	3	1	2	245	283	−38	4^[a]	Classification round

Source: FIBA
Rules for classification: 1) Tournament points; 2) Head-to-head results; 3) Head-to-head points difference; 4) Head-to-head points scored; 5) Overall points difference; 6) Overall points scored; 7) Random draw
(H) Hosts
Notes:

^ ^a ^b ^c Meralco 1–1, +25 PD; Mono 1–1, +2 PD; Al Riyadi 1–1, −27 PD

Final round

Semifinals		Gold medal game

1 October–18:00

Petrochimi	79
		2 October–20:30
Meralco Bolts	74
		Petrochimi	68
1 October–20:30
		Alvark Tokyo	64
Alvark Tokyo	78

Seoul SK Knights	54
		Bronze medal game

		2 October–18:00

		Meralco Bolts	87

		Seoul SK Knights	91

Transactions

Trades

Pre season

Free Agency

Addition

Player	Number	Position	Contract	Date signed	Former Team
Niño Canaleta^[3]	12	F	—	—	Blackwater Elite
Nico Salva^[3]	8	F	—	—	Kia Picanto
Marnel Baracael^[3]	45	F	—	—	GlobalPort Batang Pier
Jason Ballesteros^[3]^[4]	18	C	—	—	Kia Picanto

Recruited imports

Conference	Name	Number	Debuted	Last game	Record
Commissioner's Cup	Arinze Onuaku	5	April 25 (vs. Columbian)	July 11 (vs. Barangay Ginebra)	7–6
Governors' Cup	Allen Durham	5	August 17 (vs. Columbian)	November 17 (vs. Alaska)	8–9
FIBA Asia Champions Cup	Allen Durham	5	September 27 (vs. Mono Vampire)	October 2 (vs. SK Knights)	1–4
FIBA Asia Champions Cup	Diamond Stone	33	September 27 (vs. Mono Vampire)	October 2 (vs. SK Knights)	1–4

Awards

Recipient	Award	Date awarded	Ref.
Baser Amer	Governors' Cup Player of the Week	November 13, 2018	^[5]

References

^ San Miguel nets Standhardinger, PBA.ph, October 29, 2017
^ ^a ^b ^c "ALL ABOUT THE PBA QUOTIENT".
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Beset by injuries, Meralco signs free agents". news.abs-cbn.com. December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
^ Ramos, Gerry (December 8, 2017). "Meralco signs Ballesteros, eyes Canaleta, Baracael to beef up injury-hit frontline". Spin.ph. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
^ "Baser Amer comes of age".