Quinto says Bolts not using tough schedule as excuse
Meralco forward Bong Quinto knows it best—the Bolts have been here before.
Following another loss in the PBA Philippine Cup, this time at the hands of NLEx on Sunday at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo, Quinto shared his thoughts on the team’s grueling schedule.
Yet, his comments didn’t come off as complaints.
“You can say that [the schedule] is a factor, but of course, we wanted this,” Quinto told the Inquirer after their 89-85 loss to the Road Warriors.
“We’ve been in this kind of situation before. If you notice, our games are scheduled consecutively.”
For the third straight year, Meralco is playing in two leagues—the PBA Philippine Cup and the East Asia Super League (EASL).
So while Quinto and the Bolts are no strangers to this demanding setup, it hasn’t helped their Philippine Cup campaign, where they now stand at 3-3.
“We’ve played these kinds of schedules before. In a span of ten days, we play a lot of games, but we always go back to the fact that we’ve been here before.”
The Bolts face TNT next on Wednesday, still in Antipolo, but the tough grind continues. On Sunday, they fly to Taiwan to take on the Taoyuan Pauian Pilots at the Taoyuan Arena in the EASL.
In that regional league, Meralco is winless in Group B after dropping its season opener to Japanese B. League powerhouse Ryukyu Golden Kings.
With their attention divided between two demanding competitions, Quinto emphasized the need to stay grounded.
“We just prepare ourselves so we’re ready when the quarters, semis, or maybe even the finals come. But before that happens, we have to establish ourselves here in the eliminations.”
