One of the main players who helped MERALCO win its first-ever PBA title last year passed away recently.

Due to a persistent back injury, veteran shooter Allein Maliksi will not be playing for the Bolts when they defend their Philippine Cup title.

According to Maliksi, 37, he has been grounded this time due to a severe case of sciatica, a lower back ache that travels down the leg.

“Next season na ako,” As Meralco began its title defense on Friday night at Ninoy Aquino Stadium with an exciting 91-89 victory over Converge, he said curtly on the sidelines.

In Season 49, the shooting guard only appeared in two games, the final one being a 110-94 Commissioner’s Cup loss to Converge on Christmas Day.

At that time, he had just undergone surgery to remove bone spurs from his knee.

However, after missing a lot of play in the early part of the season, Maliksi felt he wasn’t quite in full form during that game.

It seems that over that same span, his back problem started to bother him.

“Pero yung sa tuhod ko OK na,” Maliksi noted.

In last year’s All-Filipino Cup Finals versus San Miguel, the University of Santo Tomas product was instrumental for Meralco, scoring an average of 18.0 points in the final two games of the championship series, including 14 in the thrilling 80-78 victory in Game 6 that secured the team’s first-ever league title.

Coach Luigi Trillo admitted that the team’s attempt to retain the title will be severely hampered by losing Maliksi.

He did, however, add that the Bolts have a number of players they can count on to step in for Maliksi, including rookie CJ Cansino, Jansen Rios, and Alvin Pasaol.

Meanwhile, on Friday night at Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Meralco defeated Converge 91-89 to begin their defense of the PBA Philippine Cup title. Chris Newsome made a clutch jumper with 0.8 seconds remaining.

With a few seconds remaining, Newsome launched an assault, halted on a dime inside the shaded area, and, after deceiving two defenders, made the mid-range jumper that ended an 89-89 stalemate.

The reigning champs trailed by as much as 20 points at one point and by six with two and a half minutes remaining against a motivated FiberXers team, but that basket sealed an 8-0 victory.

In the game’s last possession, Alec Stockton’s rushed turnaround shot went wide.
Despite trailing 27–7 early in the game, Meralco prevailed.

Bong Quinto and Newsome each scored a three in the Meralco finishing kick to level the score at 89. Newsome deceived Stockton and Schonny Winston before making a mid-range pull-up jumper, while Cliff Hodge swiped a pass meant for Justine Baltazar at the post.

Despite twisting his ankle in the third quarter and receiving five fouls, the Gilas Pilipinas player made the game-winning basket.

In spite of a performance that was far from ideal, Meralco coach Luigi Trillo was happy to see the team win.

Trillo said, “We just had to grind it out. We didn’t have a good first quarter. We give credit to Converge, they were playing well. [Newsome] had a sprain, a couple of calls against him at the start so he got into foul trouble. I don’t think it was one of his better games, but he bailed us out with that shot.”

Bong Quinto finished with 14 points and 6 rebounds for Meralco, while Newsome finished with 15 points, 6 rebounds, and four assists. For the Bolts, Raymond Almazan contributed 13 points, 12 rebounds, and two blocks.

With 2:21 remaining, Converge was still ahead, 89-83, but they lost badly in the final seconds.

Their first game under a new coaching staff, which included Pampanga Governor Dennis Pineda as head coach Franco Atienza’s lead deputy, saw Stockton lose with 17 points and Justin Arana scoring 23 points and pulling down six rebounds.

The Scores

Meralco 91 – Newsome 15, Quinto 14, Almazan 13, Black 10, Jose 10, Reyson 8, Caram 6, Rios 5, Hodge 3, Pascual 2, Cansino 2, Bates 0, Pasaol 0.

Converge 89 – Arana 23, Stockton 17, Baltazar 14, Winston 13, Garcia 6, Santos 5, Delos Santos 4, Caralipio 2, Racal 2, Corpuz 2, Nermal 1, Ambohot 0, Suerte 0, Santos 0.

Quarter Scores: 22-34; 42-44; 63-66; 91-89.