2021 Meralco Bolts season

2021   Meralco Bolts season
Head coach	Norman Black
Owner(s)	Manila Electric Company (an MVP group subsidiary)
Philippine Cup results
Record	9–2 (81.8%)
Place	2nd
Playoff finish	Semifinalist (lost to Magnolia, 2–4)
Governors' Cup results
Record	7–4 (63.6%)
Place	4th
Playoff finish	Runner-up (lost to Barangay Ginebra, 2–4)
Meralco Bolts seasons
←  2020 2022–23  →

The 2021 Meralco Bolts season is the 11th and current season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Key dates

• March 14: The PBA Season 46 draft was held at the TV5 Media Center in Mandaluyong. ^[1]

Draft picks

Main article: PBA Season 46 draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Place of birth	College
1	9	Alvin Pasaol	Guard/Forward	Philippines	UE
3	33	John Yasa	Center/Forward	Philippines	PCU
4	43	Luis Brill	Guard	USA	Wheeling

Roster

Meralco Bolts roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age G/F 1 Black, Aaron 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1996–12–03 Ateneo G 5 Banchero, Chris 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1989–01–24 Seattle Pacific F 6 Jose, Raymar 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1992–08–06 Far Eastern F 7 Hodge, Cliff  (C) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1988–02–03 Reedley G/F 11 Newsome, Chris 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1990–07–25 Ateneo F 12 Belo, Mac 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1993–02–12 Far Eastern F 14 Cañete, Michael 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 1993–08–14 Arellano G 15 Johnson, Franky 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1993–08–15 Warner Pacific G 17 Caram, Anjo 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 159 lb (72 kg) 1991–01–14 San Beda G/F 19 Quinto, Bong 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 1994–12–15 Letran C 20 Almazan, Raymond 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 1989–08–02 Letran F/C 21 Hugnatan, Reynel 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1978–11–03 Manila G/F 22 Maliksi, Allein 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1987–09–18 UST G/F 23 Pasaol, Alvin 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1995–05–06 UE F/C 50 Baclao, Nonoy 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1987–06–15 Ateneo F 81 Jamito, Jammer 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1990–09–01 St. Clare	Head coach Norman Black Assistant coach(es) Ronnie Magsanoc (1st assistant) Luigi Trillo Gene Afable Patrick Fran Charles Tiu Team manager Paolo Trillo Legend (C) Team captain (I) Import (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (S) Suspended (R) Rookie (3x3) Assigned to 3x3 team Injured Roster

Philippine Cup

Eliminations

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	TNT Tropang Giga	10	1	.909	—	Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals
2	Meralco Bolts	9	2	.818	1
3	Magnolia Hotshots	8	3	.727	2	Best-of-three quarterfinals
4	San Miguel Beermen	7	4	.636	3
5	NorthPort Batang Pier	6	5	.545 [lower-alpha 1]	4
6	Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	6	5	.545 [lower-alpha 1]	4
7	NLEX Road Warriors	5	6	.455	5	Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals
8	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	4	7	.364 [lower-alpha 2]	6
9	Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters	4	7	.364 [lower-alpha 2]	6
10	Terrafirma Dyip	4	7	.364 [lower-alpha 2]	6
11	Alaska Aces	3	8	.273	7
12	Blackwater Bossing	0	11	.000	10

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 ^[2]
Notes:

1. Head-to-head record: NorthPort 1–0 Rain or Shine
2. Head-to-head quotient: Phoenix 1.03, Barangay Ginebra 1.01, Terrafirma 0.96; eighth seed playoff: Barangay Ginebra 95–85 Phoenix

Game log

2021 PBA Philippine Cup game log Total: 9–2
July: 4–1 Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 July 16 NorthPort W 85–63 Mac Belo (27) Mac Belo (9) Almazan, Quinto (5) Ynares Sports Arena 1–0 2 July 18 San Miguel W 93–87 Chris Newsome (17) Bong Quinto (7) Newsome, Quinto (6) Ynares Sports Arena 2–0 3 July 24 Rain or Shine L 72–85 Chris Newsome (13) Cliff Hodge (12) Chris Newsome (6) Ynares Sports Arena 2–1 4 July 28 Phoenix W 91–80 Allein Maliksi (24) Belo, Hodge, Maliksi (7) Chris Newsome (7) Ynares Sports Arena 3–1 5 July 31 Alaska W 89–80 John Pinto (16) Chris Newsome (11) Chris Newsome (6) Ynares Sports Arena 4–1
September: 5–1 Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 6 September 1 Magnolia W 95–94 Mac Belo (22) Cliff Hodge (11) Chris Newsome (4) DHVSU Gym 5–1 7 September 3 TNT L 76–91 John Pinto (16) Reynel Hugnatan (11) Bong Quinto (5) DHVSU Gym 5–2 8 September 1 Terrafirma W 95–83 Bong Quinto (17) Almazan, Pasaol, Quinto (8) John Pinto (7) DHVSU Gym 6–2 9 September 18 Blackwater W 104–97 Allein Maliksi (21) Raymond Almazan (17) Bong Quinto (6) DHVSU Gym 7–2 10 September 22 NLEX W 104–101 Allein Maliksi (22) Raymond Almazan (11) Bong Quinto (8) DHVSU Gym 8–2 11 September 23 Barangay Ginebra W 79–66 Belo, Pasaol (15) Raymond Almazan (10) Bong Quinto (8) DHVSU Gym 9–2

Playoffs

Bracket

	Quarterfinals						Semifinals (Best-of-7)					Finals (Best-of-7)
	(#1 twice-to-beat)
	1	TNT		84
	8	Barangay Ginebra		71
							1	TNT	4
	(Best-of-3)
							4	San Miguel	3
	4	San Miguel		2
	5	NorthPort		0
												1	TNT	4
	(#2 twice-to-beat)
												3	Magnolia	1
	2	Meralco	80	97
	7	NLEX	81	86
							2	Meralco	2
	(Best-of-3)
							3	Magnolia	4
	3	Magnolia		2
	6	Rain or Shine		0

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Game log

2021 PBA Philippine Cup playoffs game log Total: 3–5
Quarterfinals: 1–1 Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 September 29 NLEX L 80–81 Allein Maliksi (16) Cliff Hodge (11) Newsome, Quinto (4) DHVSU Gym 0–1 2 October 1 NLEX W 97–86 Chris Newsome (23) Hodge, Newsome (9) Caram, Newsome (6) DHVSU Gym 1–1
Semifinals: 2–4 Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 October 3 Magnolia L 79–88 Bong Quinto (14) Cliff Hodge (8) Bong Quinto (10) DHVSU Gym 0–1 2 October 6 Magnolia L 78–92 Chris Newsome (18) Belo, Hugnatan (7) Chris Newsome (7) DHVSU Gym 0–2 3 October 8 Magnolia W 91–86 Chris Newsome (17) Cliff Hodge (12) Newsome, Quinto (4) DHVSU Gym 1–2 4 October 10 Magnolia L 69–81 Reynel Hugnatan (21) Reynel Hugnatan (9) Chris Newsome (8) DHVSU Gym 1–3 5 October 13 Magnolia W 102–98 Allein Maliksi (29) Raymond Almazan (10) Chris Newsome (6) DHVSU Gym 2–3 6 October 15 Magnolia L 85–93 Raymond Almazan (16) Raymond Almazan (12) Hodge, Newsome (6) DHVSU Gym 2–4

Governors' Cup

Eliminations

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	Magnolia Hotshots	9	2	.818	—	Twice-to-beat in quarterfinals
2	NLEX Road Warriors	8	3	.727	1
3	TNT Tropang Giga	7	4	.636 [lower-alpha 1]	2
4	Meralco Bolts	7	4	.636 [lower-alpha 1]	2
5	San Miguel Beermen	7	4	.636 [lower-alpha 1]	2	Twice-to-win in quarterfinals
6	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	6	5	.545 [lower-alpha 2]	3
7	Alaska Aces	6	5	.545 [lower-alpha 2]	3
8	Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters	5	6	.455 [lower-alpha 3]	4
9	NorthPort Batang Pier	5	6	.455 [lower-alpha 3]	4
10	Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	3	8	.273	6
11	Terrafirma Dyip	2	9	.182	7
12	Blackwater Bossing	1	10	.091	8

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 ^[3]
Notes:

1. Head-to-head quotient: TNT 1.07, Meralco 0.99, San Miguel 0.95
2. Head-to-head record: Barangay Ginebra 1–0 Alaska
3. Eighth seed playoff: Phoenix 101–98 NorthPort

Game log

2021 PBA Governors' Cup game log Total: 7–4
December: 2–0 Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 December 16 Blackwater W 98–77 Tony Bishop (28) Tony Bishop (13) John Pinto (7) Smart Araneta Coliseum 1–0 2 December 22 TNT W 83–80 Tony Bishop (36) Tony Bishop (17) Newsome, Pinto (4) Smart Araneta Coliseum 2–0
February: 4–2 Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 3 February 11, 2022 NLEX W 110–100 Tony Bishop (32) Tony Bishop (13) Tony Bishop (8) Smart Araneta Coliseum 3–0 4 February 13, 2022 Barangay Ginebra W 101–95 Tony Bishop (30) Tony Bishop (13) Bishop, Newsome (7) Smart Araneta Coliseum 4–0 5 February 17, 2022 NorthPort L 98–109 Tony Bishop (34) Tony Bishop (16) Chris Newsome (8) Smart Araneta Coliseum 4–1 6 February 20, 2022 Rain or Shine W 93–88 Tony Bishop (26) Tony Bishop (14) Chris Banchero (5) Smart Araneta Coliseum 3,347 5–1 7 February 24, 2022 Terrafirma W 107–95 Tony Bishop (26) Tony Bishop (11) Allein Maliksi (6) Ynares Center 6–1 8 February 26, 2022 Alaska L 93–94 Allein Maliksi (32) Tony Bishop (13) Tony Bishop (5) Ynares Center 6–2
March: 1–2 Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 9 March 2, 2022 Magnolia L 85–88 Tony Bishop (19) Tony Bishop (14) Chris Newsome (5) Smart Araneta Coliseum 6–3 10 March 5, 2022 San Miguel L 110–115 Tony Bishop (29) Tony Bishop (14) Chris Newsome (7) Smart Araneta Coliseum 6–4 11 March 11, 2022 Phoenix W 109–90 Tony Bishop (35) Tony Bishop (13) Tony Bishop (5) Smart Araneta Coliseum 7–4

Playoffs

Bracket

	Quarterfinals						Semifinals (Best-of-5)					Finals (Best-of-7)
	(#1 twice-to-beat)
	1	Magnolia		127
	8	Phoenix Super LPG		88
							1	Magnolia	2
	(#4 twice-to-beat)
							4	Meralco	3
	4	Meralco		100
	5	San Miguel		85
												4	Meralco	2
	(#2 twice-to-beat)
												6	Barangay Ginebra	4
	2	NLEX	79	96
	7	Alaska	93	80
							2	NLEX	1
	(#3 twice-to-beat)
							6	Barangay Ginebra	3
	3	TNT	92	95
	6	Barangay Ginebra	104	115

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Game log

2021 PBA Governors' game log Total: 6–6
Quarterfinals: 1–0 Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 March 18, 2022 San Miguel W 100–85 Tony Bishop (32) Tony Bishop (16) Bong Quinto (5) Smart Araneta Coliseum 1–0
Semifinals: 3–2 Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 March 23, 2022 Magnolia L 80–94 Chris Banchero (16) Tony Bishop (12) Bong Quinto (4) SM Mall of Asia Arena 0–1 2 March 25, 2022 Magnolia W 81–75 Tony Bishop (22) Tony Bishop (14) Aaron Black (4) SM Mall of Asia Arena 1–1 3 March 27, 2022 Magnolia W 101–95 Tony Bishop (27) Tony Bishop (10) Banchero, Newsome (5) SM Mall of Asia Arena 13,272 2–1 4 March 30, 2022 Magnolia L 73–94 Tony Bishop (22) Tony Bishop (16) Chris Newsome (5) Smart Araneta Coliseum 10,353 2–2 5 April 1, 2022 Magnolia W 94–81 Allein Maliksi (24) Bishop, Newsome (8) Chris Newsome (12) Smart Araneta Coliseum 3–2
Finals : 2–4 Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 6, 2022 Barangay Ginebra W 104–91 Allein Maliksi (22) Tony Bishop (12) Chris Newsome (7) Smart Araneta Coliseum 12,457 1–0 2 April 8, 2022 Barangay Ginebra L 93–99 Tony Bishop (31) Tony Bishop (13) Aaron Black (6) SM Mall of Asia Arena 12,248 1–1 3 April 10, 2022 Barangay Ginebra W 83–74 Tony Bishop (30) Tony Bishop (16) Chris Newsome (6) SM Mall of Asia Arena 16,104 2–1 4 April 13, 2022 Barangay Ginebra L 84–95 Tony Bishop (25) Almazan, Black (9) Chris Newsome (5) Smart Araneta Coliseum 17,298 2–2 5 April 17, 2022 Barangay Ginebra L 110–115 Tony Bishop (30) Tony Bishop (15) Black, Newsome (5) Smart Araneta Coliseum 18,251 2–3 6 April 22, 2022 Barangay Ginebra L 92–103 Tony Bishop (21) Tony Bishop (16) Chris Newsome (6) SM Mall of Asia Arena 20,224 2–4

Transactions

Trades

Pre-season

February
February 4, 2021 [4]	To Meralco Mac Belo	To Blackwater Baser Amer Bryan Faundo

Mid-season

December
December 4, 2021 [5]	To Meralco Franky Johnson	To Rain or Shine Trevis Jackson

Recruited imports

Tournament	Name	Debuted	Last game	Record
Governors' Cup	Tony Bishop	December 16, 2021 (vs. Blackwater)	April 22, 2022 (vs. Barangay Ginebra)	13–10

References

1. Application forms for Season 46 Draft available Monday, PBA.ph, December 4, 2020
2. "ALL ABOUT THE PBA QUOTIENT". December 10, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
3. "ALL ABOUT THE PBA QUOTIENT". December 10, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
4. Ramos, Gerry (February 4, 2021). "Belo-Amer trade approved by PBA after Faundo added to package". Sports Interactive Network. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
5. "Jackson for Johnson as RoS, Meralco seal trade deal". PBA.ph. December 4, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2021.