Romwel Anzures

Meralco Bolts head coach Luigi Trillo in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup semifinals. Photo from PBA Images.

Meralco Bolts head coach Luigi Trillo in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup quarterfinals. Photo from PBA Images.

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ABS-CBN News

<div style="line-height:1.5"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1767152501330IMG_9609.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Meralco Bolts head coach Luigi Trillo in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup quarterfinals. <em>Photo from PBA Images.</em></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height:1.5"><br/></div><p style="line-height:1.5">MANILA — The Meralco Bolts are through to the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup semifinals, and resiliency proved to be the key to their return to the final four.</p><p style="line-height:1.5">Juggling duties as the country’s representative in both the East Asia Super League (EASL) and the Basketball Champions League (BCL) Asia, Meralco struggled early in the All-Filipino eliminations, managing just three wins in its first seven games.</p><p style="line-height:1.5">The Bolts, however, caught fire down the stretch, winning four of their last five elimination games to secure a quarterfinal berth. Matched up against the twice-to-beat Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, Meralco also completed the upset to punch its ticket to the semifinals.</p><p style="line-height:1.5">“People don’t know how hard it is to go to the EASL, then try to do well there and here, so I’m proud of our resilience,” said Bolts head coach Luigi Trillo after their 98-89 win over Rain or Shine on Monday.</p><p style="line-height:1.5">The Season 48 All-Filipino champions only found their groove late in the elims, with CJ Cansino and Chris Newsome leading the surge that helped Meralco move past its quarterfinal exit in the same conference last Season 49.</p><p style="line-height:1.5">Standing in the way now is powerhouse TNT Tropang 5G, but Trillo remains upbeat as the Bolts prepare for another uphill battle.</p><p style="line-height:1.5">“Right now, in front of us is TNT. They are very solid, and they’ve had our number quite a lot, so it’s going to be a battle for us,” he said. “But this is what we want, to go through the best.”</p><p style="line-height:1.5">Game 1 of the best-of-seven semifinal series is set for Sunday, January 4, 2026, 5:15 p.m. at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.</p><div style="line-height:1.5"><br/></div>

<p>#PBA50 || “People don’t know how hard it is to go to the EASL, then try to do well there and here, so I’m proud of our resilience."</p>

#PBA50 || “People don’t know how hard it is to go to the EASL, then try to do well there and here, so I’m proud of our resilience."

PBA: Resiliency key to Meralco’s semis berth, says Trillo

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PBA: Resiliency key to Meralco’s semis berth, says Trillo

Rom Anzures,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 31, 2025 12:58 PM PHT

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Basketball

PBA

PBA Season 50

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PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup

PBA 50

PBA 50 Philippine Cup Semifinals

Meralco Bolts

TNT Tropang 5G

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