2022–23 Meralco Bolts season

2022–23 Meralco Bolts season
Head coachNorman Black
Luigi Trillo (interim)[1]
Owner(s)Manila Electric Company
(an MVP group subsidiary)
Philippine Cup results
Record7–4
(63.6%)
Place5th
Playoff finishSemifinalist (lost to San Miguel, 3–4)
Commissioner's Cup results
Record4–8
(33.3%)
Place10th
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Governors' Cup results
Record7–4
(63.6%)
Place4th
Playoff finishSemifinalist (lost to TNT, 1–3)
Meralco Bolts seasons
← 2021
2023–24  →

The 2022–23 Meralco Bolts season was the 12th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Key dates

  • May 15: The PBA Season 47 draft was held at the Robinsons Place Manila in Manila.[2]
  • June 6: After Norman Black files leave for personal reasons, Luigi Trillo acted as standing-in head coach and won his first game against the Elasto Painters.[1]
  • July 31: The Bolts won against the Gin Kings for the first time in a playoff series.[3]
  • August 5: Norman Black returned to the sidelines, as he led the Bolts to tie the semifinals series (1–1) against the San Miguel Beermen.[4]

Draft picks

Main article: PBA Season 47 draft
Round Pick Player Position Place of birth College
2 22 Christian Fajarito C  Philippines Letran
3 34 JJ Espanola G  Philippines UP Diliman
4 42 Andrey Armenion G  Philippines UE

Roster

2022–23 Meralco Bolts roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # POB Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From
G 1 Philippines Black, Aaron 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1996–12–03 Ateneo
G 4 Philippines Dario, Diego 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 145 lb (66 kg) 1997–01–06 UP Diliman
G 6 United States Banchero, Chris 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1989–01–24 Seattle Pacific
F 7 United States Hodge, Cliff 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1988–02–03 Reedley
G/F 11 United States Newsome, Chris 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1990–07–25 Ateneo
F 12 Philippines Belo, Mac 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1993–02–12 Far Eastern
G 15 United States Johnson, Franky 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1993–08–15 Warner Pacific
G 17 Philippines Caram, Anjo 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 159 lb (72 kg) 1991–01–14 San Beda
G/F 19 Philippines Quinto, Bong 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 1994–12–15 Letran
C 20 Philippines Almazan, Raymond (C) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 1989–08–02 Letran
F/C 21 Philippines Hugnatan, Reynel 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1978–11–03 Manila
G/F 22 Philippines Maliksi, Allein 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1987–09–18 UST
G/F 23 Philippines Pasaol, Alvin 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1995–05–06 UE
F 24 Philippines Jose, Raymar 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1992–08–06 Far Eastern
G/F 27 Philippines Rios, Jansen 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1991–10–28 Adamson
F/C 32 United States Pascual, Kyle 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1990–04–13 San Beda
F/C 97 Philippines Baclao, Nonoy 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1987–06–15 Ateneo
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Team manager


Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (CI) Commissioner's Cup Import
  • (GI) Governors' Cup Import
  • (EI) EASL Import
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • (R) Rookie
  • Injured Injured

Roster

Philippine Cup

Eliminations

Standings

Pos Team
 W L PCT GB Qualification
1 San Miguel Beermen 9 2 .818 — Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals
2 TNT Tropang Giga 8 3 .727[a] 1
3 Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots 8 3 .727[a] 1 Best-of-three quarterfinals
4 Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 8 3 .727[a] 1
5 Meralco Bolts 7 4 .636 2
6 NLEX Road Warriors 6 5 .545 3
7 Converge FiberXers 5 6 .455[b] 4 Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals
8 Blackwater Bossing 5 6 .455[b] 4
9 Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 4 7 .364 5
10 NorthPort Batang Pier 3 8 .273[c] 6
11 Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters 3 8 .273[c] 6
12 Terrafirma Dyip 0 11 .000 9
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[5]
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c Head-to-head quotient:TNT 1.12, Magnolia 0.99, Barangay Ginebra 0.90
  2. ^ a b Head-to-head record: Converge 1–0 Blackwater
  3. ^ a b Head-to-head record: NorthPort 1–0 Phoenix

Game log

2022 PBA Philippine Cup game log
Total: 7–4
June: 3–3
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 June 11 Phoenix Super LPG W 109–98 Chris Newsome (21) Cliff Hodge (10) Chris Newsome (7) Ynares Center 1–0
2 June 16 Converge W 90–74 Aaron Black (25) Raymond Almazan (15) Black, Newsome (5) Ynares Center 2–0
3 June 18 TNT L 71–78 Allein Maliksi (20) Cliff Hodge (9) Bong Quinto (4) Ynares Center 2–1
4 June 23 NorthPort W 97–87 Aaron Black (20) Raymar Jose (13) Black, Newsome (7) Ynares Center 3–1
5 June 25 NLEX L 75–90 Chris Newsome (17) Raymar Jose (9) Banchero, Newsome (3) Ynares Center 3–2
6 June 30 Blackwater L 89–90 Chris Newsome (23) Cliff Hodge (7) Bong Quinto (8) Smart Araneta Coliseum 3–3
July: 4–1
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
7 July 6 Rain or Shine W 77–73 Aaron Black (20) Raymond Almazan (15) Aaron Black (6) Smart Araneta Coliseum 4–3
8 July 13 Barangay Ginebra W 90–73 Chris Newsome (19) Raymond Almazan (15) Black, Quinto (5) Smart Araneta Coliseum 5–3
9 July 15 Magnolia L 88–97 (OT) Chris Newsome (24) Raymond Almazan (18) Aaron Black (7) Ynares Center 5–4
10 July 17 San Miguel W 89–86 Allein Maliksi (18) Cliff Hodge (11) Black, Hodge, Newsome (5) Smart Araneta Coliseum 6–4
11 July 21 Terrafirma W 105–89 Chris Newsome (19) Raymond Almazan (9) Banchero, Black, Newsome (5) Smart Araneta Coliseum 7–4

Playoffs

Bracket

QuarterfinalsSemifinals
(best-of-7)		Finals
(best-of-7)
(#1 twice-to-beat)
1San Miguel123
8Blackwater93
1San Miguel4
(best-of-3)
5Meralco3
4Barangay Ginebra1
5Meralco2
1San Miguel4
(#2 twice-to-beat)
2TNT3
2TNT116
7Converge95
2TNT4
(best-of-3)
3Magnolia2
3Magnolia2
6NLEX1
This box:

Game log

2022 PBA Philippine Cup playoffs game log
Total: 5–5
Quarterfinals: 2–1
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 July 24 Barangay Ginebra W 93–82 Aaron Black (25) Newsome, Pascual (9) Chris Newsome (6) Smart Araneta Coliseum 1–0
2 July 29 Barangay Ginebra L 87–94 Cliff Hodge (25) Raymond Almazan (10) Chris Newsome (6) Filoil EcoOil Centre 1–1
3 July 31 Barangay Ginebra W 106–104 Chris Newsome (21) Cliff Hodge (18) Chris Newsome (12) SM Mall of Asia Arena 2–1
Semifinals: 3–4
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 August 3 San Miguel L 97–121 Chris Banchero (17) Almazan, Jose, Newsome, Quinto (6) Chris Banchero (5) Smart Araneta Coliseum 0–1
2 August 5 San Miguel W 99–88 Cliff Hodge (17) Cliff Hodge (14) Chris Newsome (5) Smart Araneta Coliseum 1–1
3 August 7 San Miguel L 91–96 Chris Newsome (16) Cliff Hodge (13) Chris Newsome (6) Smart Araneta Coliseum 1–2
4 August 10 San Miguel W 111–97 Aaron Black (21) Black, Hodge (7) Aaron Black (7) Smart Araneta Coliseum 2–2
5 August 12 San Miguel L 78–89 Chris Newsome (24) Aaron Black (11) Black, Newsome (4) Smart Araneta Coliseum 2–3
6 August 14 San Miguel W 96–92 Chris Newsome (19) Cliff Hodge (12) Aaron Black (6) Smart Araneta Coliseum
9,439 		3–3
7 August 17 San Miguel L 89–100 Cliff Hodge (23) Cliff Hodge (8) Banchero, Hodge, Newsome (4) Smart Araneta Coliseum 3–4

Commissioner's Cup

Eliminations

Standings

Pos Team
 W L PCT GB Qualification
1 Bay Area Dragons (G) 10 2 .833[a] — Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals
2 Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots 10 2 .833[a] —
3 Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 9 3 .750 1 Best-of-three quarterfinals
4 Converge FiberXers 8 4 .667 2
5 San Miguel Beermen 7 5 .583 3
6 NorthPort Batang Pier 6 6 .500[b] 4
7 Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters 6 6 .500[b] 4 Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals
8 Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 5 7 .417[c] 5
9 NLEX Road Warriors 5 7 .417[c] 5
10 Meralco Bolts 4 8 .333[d] 6
11 TNT Tropang Giga 4 8 .333[d] 6
12 Blackwater Bossing 3 9 .250 7
13 Terrafirma Dyip 1 11 .083 9
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[6]
(G) Guests
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head record: Bay Area 1–0 Magnolia
  2. ^ a b Head-to-head record: NorthPort 1–0 Phoenix
  3. ^ a b Eighth seed playoff: Rain or Shine 110–100 NLEX
  4. ^ a b Head-to-head record: Meralco 1–0 TNT

Game log

2022–23 PBA Commissioner's Cup game log
Total: 4–8
September: 0–1
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 September 30, 2022 NorthPort L 95–101 (OT) Johnny O'Bryant III (30) Johnny O'Bryant III (22) Aaron Black (7) Smart Araneta Coliseum 0–1
October: 1–4
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
2 October 2, 2022 Barangay Ginebra L 91–99 Johnny O'Bryant III (31) Johnny O'Bryant III (16) Aaron Black (9) Smart Araneta Coliseum 0–2
3 October 7, 2022 Terrafirma W 105–92 Johnny O'Bryant III (31) Johnny O'Bryant III (11) Chris Banchero (7) Smart Araneta Coliseum 1–2
4 October 15, 2022 Converge L 99–106 Johnny O'Bryant III (27) Johnny O'Bryant III (15) Aaron Black (6) Smart Araneta Coliseum 1–3
5 October 19, 2022 Phoenix Super LPG L 82–89 Bong Quinto (22) Johnny O'Bryant III (16) Johnny O'Bryant III (9) PhilSports Arena 1–4
6 October 22, 2022 Rain or Shine L 96–113 Johnny O'Bryant III (30) Raymond Almazan (12) Black, O'Bryant (5) PhilSports Arena 1–5
November: 3–2
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
7 November 4, 2022 Bay Area W 92–89 K. J. McDaniels (31) Raymond Almazan (16) Banchero, Black (2) Smart Araneta Coliseum 2–5
8 November 11, 2022 Blackwater W 102–98 (OT) K. J. McDaniels (26) K. J. McDaniels (16) K. J. McDaniels (5) Ynares Center 3–5
9 November 16, 2022 TNT W 97–91 K. J. McDaniels (26) K. J. McDaniels (15) Aaron Black (6) Smart Araneta Coliseum 4–5
10 November 27, 2022 Magnolia L 96–108 K. J. McDaniels (32) K. J. McDaniels (9) Chris Banchero (5) PhilSports Arena 4–6
11 November 30, 2022 NLEX L 81–92 K. J. McDaniels (22) Hodge, McDaniels (9) Aaron Black (4) PhilSports Arena 4–7
December: 0–1
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
12 December 2, 2022 San Miguel L 108–113 K. J. McDaniels (27) Raymar Jose (17) Anjo Caram (6) PhilSports Arena 4–8

Governors' Cup

Eliminations

Standings

Pos Team
 W L PCT GB Qualification
1 TNT Tropang Giga 10 1 .909 — Twice-to-beat in quarterfinals
2 San Miguel Beermen 9 2 .818 1
3 Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 8 3 .727 2
4 Meralco Bolts 7 4 .636[a] 3
5 Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots 7 4 .636[a] 3 Twice-to-win in quarterfinals
6 NLEX Road Warriors 7 4 .636[a] 3
7 Converge FiberXers 6 5 .545 4
8 Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters 4 7 .364 6
9 NorthPort Batang Pier 3 8 .273 7
10 Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 2 9 .182 8
11 Terrafirma Dyip 2 9 .182 8
12 Blackwater Bossing 1 10 .091 9
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[7]
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c Head-to-head quotient: Meralco 1.099, Magnolia 1.0741, NLEX 0.86

Game log

2023 PBA Governors' Cup game log
Total: 7–4
January: 2–1
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 January 22 Rain or Shine W 105–87 K. J. McDaniels (27) K. J. McDaniels (23) Chris Newsome (6) PhilSports Arena 1–0
2 January 26 NorthPort W 107–102 K. J. McDaniels (32) K. J. McDaniels (22) Chris Newsome (6) PhilSports Arena 2–0
3 January 28 Terrafirma L 88–96 K. J. McDaniels (29) K. J. McDaniels (19) Black, McDaniels (4) Ynares Center 2–1
February: 3–2
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
4 February 4 Blackwater W 125–99 Allein Maliksi (30) K. J. McDaniels (15) K. J. McDaniels (8) Ynares Center 3–1
5 February 9 San Miguel L 86–94 McDaniels, Newsome (18) K. J. McDaniels (13) Chris Newsome (5) Smart Araneta Coliseum 3–2
6 February 17 TNT L 104–111 K. J. McDaniels (26) K. J. McDaniels (15) Chris Newsome (4) Smart Araneta Coliseum 3–3
7 February 23 NLEX W 114–98 K. J. McDaniels (31) K. J. McDaniels (21) Chris Newsome (8) PhilSports Arena 4–3
8 February 26 Magnolia W 86–84 K. J. McDaniels (19) K. J. McDaniels (15) Aaron Black (4) Smart Araneta Coliseum 5–3
March: 2–1
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
9 March 1 Barangay Ginebra L 107–112 K. J. McDaniels (28) K. J. McDaniels (11) Banchero, Black (5) Smart Araneta Coliseum 5–4
10 March 3 Converge W 132–129 (OT) K. J. McDaniels (33) K. J. McDaniels (12) Black, Hodge (5) Smart Araneta Coliseum 6–4
11 March 5 Phoenix Super LPG W 92–86 K. J. McDaniels (19) K. J. McDaniels (16) Chris Newsome (9) PhilSports Arena 7–4

Playoffs

Bracket

QuarterfinalsSemifinals
(best-of-5)		Finals
(best-of-7)
(#1 twice-to-beat)
1TNT132
8Phoenix Super LPG105
1TNT3
(#4 twice-to-beat)
4Meralco1
4Meralco113*
5Magnolia107
1TNT4
(#2 twice-to-beat)
3Barangay Ginebra2
2San Miguel121
7Converge105
2San Miguel0
(#3 twice-to-beat)
3Barangay Ginebra3
3Barangay Ginebra127
6NLEX93

*Game went into overtime

This box:

Game log

2023 PBA Governors' Cup playoffs game log
Total: 2–3
Quarterfinals: 1–0
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 March 22 Magnolia W 113–107 (OT) Chris Newsome (33) Aaron Black (12) Chris Newsome (7) Smart Araneta Coliseum 1–0
Semifinals: 1–3
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 March 24 TNT L 80–110 K. J. McDaniels (12) K. J. McDaniels (14) Aaron Black (5) Ynares Center 0–1
2 March 26 TNT W 124–117 (OT) K. J. McDaniels (39) K. J. McDaniels (20) Aaron Black (10) Ynares Center 1–1
3 March 29 TNT L 80–99 K. J. McDaniels (30) Aaron Black (11) Chris Newsome (5) Smart Araneta Coliseum 1–2
4 March 31 TNT L 92–107 K. J. McDaniels (37) K. J. McDaniels (12) Aaron Black (7) Smart Araneta Coliseum 1–3

Transactions

Free agency

Signings

Player Date signed Contract amount Contract length Former team
Aaron Black May 24, 2022[8] Not disclosed 2 years Re-signed
Kyle Pascual May 26, 2022[9] Terrafirma Dyip
Jansen Rios January 19, 2023[10] 1 year Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters
Diego Dario January 24, 2023[11] 1 conference Davao Occidental Tigers (PSL)

Recruited imports

Tournament Name Debuted Last game Record
Commissioner's Cup Johnny O'Bryant III September 30, 2022 (vs. NorthPort) October 22, 2022 (vs. Rain or Shine) 1–5
K. J. McDaniels November 4, 2022 (vs. Bay Area) December 2, 2022 (vs. San Miguel) 3–3
Governors' Cup January 22, 2023 (vs. Rain or Shine) March 31, 2023 (vs. TNT) 9–7

Awards

Recipient Honors Date awarded
Cliff Hodge 2022–23 PBA All-Defensive Team November 5, 2023[12]
Chris Newsome

References

  1. ^ a b "Luigi Trillo guides Meralco out of slump as stand-in for Norman Black". Rappler. July 6, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  2. ^ [1], PBA.ph, June 1, 2022
  3. ^ "Meralco averts disaster, boots out Ginebra in breakthrough playoff win to reach semis". Rappler. July 31, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  4. ^ Li, Matthew (August 5, 2022). "Norman Black returns to Meralco". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  5. ^ "ALL ABOUT THE PBA QUOTIENT". December 10, 2012.
  6. ^ "ALL ABOUT THE PBA QUOTIENT". December 10, 2012.
  7. ^ "ALL ABOUT THE PBA QUOTIENT". December 10, 2012.
  8. ^ Ramos, Gerry. "No sophomore jinx as Aaron Black rewarded with two-year extension". Spin.ph. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  9. ^ Ramos, Gerry. "Free agent Kyle Pascual declines Terrafirma offer to sign with Meralco". Spin.ph. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  10. ^ Terrado, Reuben. "Jansen Rios signs with Meralco at the end of Phoenix contract". Spin.ph. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  11. ^ Li, Matthew. "Diego Dario cracks Meralco lineup, signs one conference deal". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  12. ^ "Fajardo leads list of winners in PBA Leo Awards". PBA.ph. November 5, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2024.