GONE are the days Terrafirma could be taken lightly, according to no less than Meralco coach Luigi Trillo.
"Sa ngayon you can see that they're gelling well," noted Trillo. "They're playing as a team so not only do they have the pieces, mga solid na tatlo o apat, pero pati 'yung ibang players nila maganda ngayon inilalaro."
Main reason Trillo warns his Bolts to be on their toes when they take on the Dyip Wednesday in the resumption of their PBA Philippine Cup campaign at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Both Meralco and Terrafirma are targeting a second straight win that would not only move them up in the standings but also give them more momentum going deeper into what should be a critical stretch for them.
Game time is 3 p.m.
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"I think these next few days or couple of weeks are gonna kind of define the teams," said Trillo, whose side currently sits on a 2-3 record and is set to play a total five games within the month.
"Kasi everybody's looking for placing," explained Trillo. "So some teams at the top can cement themselves in their positions, and some of the lower teams can come back to life."
His team at least keeping its fifth-running spot, jacking its 3-2 record and eventually gaining inclusion among the top eight teams advancing to the playoffs following the 11-game eliminations is indeed the goal of Terrafirma coach Johnedel Cardel.
"Last six games namin dapat maka-tatlo man lang kami," said Cardel, who has yet to get past the eliminations since starting to handle the franchise in 2018.
"Kaya lang mabigat. After Meralco Ginebra naman on Sunday, tapos San Miguel (Beer) next Wednesday," added Cardel. "Pero bilog naman bola, saka sa iginagalaw ng team ngayon kita mo na talagang determinado lahat."
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Trillo still expects Cardel to chiefly bank on main guys Juami Tiongson, Stephen Holt, Javi Gomez de Liano and Isaac Go. "To me, sila Holt, Juami, Go and Javi are playing very well so may mga piyesa talaga sila, that's why they're doing well," he said.
Cardel knows contending with Meralco's defense, as well as its offense led by Allein Maliksi, Chris Newsome and Aaron Black, should prove to be a tough enough task.
"Kaya palagi kong ni-re-remind mga players na like in our past wins huwag aasa sa iilan lang. Dapat lahat mag-contribute, magtulungan para mas gumanda chance naming manalo," stressed Cardel. (NC)
