Bolts play for devastated Cebu and EASL life in clash with Bears

STOCK VIA FREEPIK

CEBU—Meralco won’t be entering its next East Asia Super League (EASL) assignment with any shortage of motivation, with the Bolts’ match against the Macau Black Bears looking like anything but another regular season game.

The Bolts will play this one from the heart and for the Queen City of the South.

All proceeds of the game set at the Cebu Coliseum at 6 p.m. on Saturday will be donated to relief efforts for Cebu, which was ravaged by Typhoon Tino after the city had just started to pick up the pieces of a devastating earthquake a few weeks back.

“We’ll try to do our best to give the crowd here something to cheer about,” team manager Paolo Trillo said during the EASL’s presser on Friday at Citadines Hotel.

“Everything we’re going to raise during this game, all of the proceeds of this game, will be donated to the earthquake and typhoon victims,” EASL senior vice president and Head of Operations Dominic Tang said.

When Tino hit Cebu a few days ago, it shook its people to their very core.

According to a report by the Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office on Thursday, over 108 people were killed, 1,365 were injured and 44 still remain missing.

After those two natural calamities’ onslaughts, Cebu’s people, known for being full of smiles, now wear looks of worry.

The game is actually a do-or-die for the Bolts, who are at 1-2 heading into their match up with the debuting Bears.

“Every game is important, so we try to take it one game at a time,” Trillo added. “Obviously, for us to qualify for the next round, we need to win. Only the top two in each of the groups advance, so it’s almost like do or die for us, I guess you could say.”

And Trillo knows that the Bears have undergone a facelift.

“They’re a very different team now from when we last played them.”

CJ Cansino, meanwhile, has been ruled out for the game due to a sprained ankle, but Trillo is confident that they have more than enough in the tank to contend.

“[He] had a sprain a few weeks back and then it swelled up again this week, so he won’t be here,” he said. “Some other players are also dealing with injuries, but minor injuries. So far, we’re looking okay and healthy, getting into the game.”