MANILA – As among the players who have experienced winning PBA championships, Allein Maliksi and Raymond Almazan hope to help the Meralco Bolts in the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup finals against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings.
Maliksi, part of the San Mig Coffee Mixers team that won the Grand Slam in 2014, hopes to bring the needed championship experience to the Bolts which was defeated by the Kings twice in the finals.
“Dito sa Meralco gusto ko makapag-champion uli katulad noong nasa Purefoodsfranchise ako,” said Maliksi. “Siyempre masarap sa pakiramdam na andun ka ulit sa PBA fiinals, meron ka ulit chiance na makapag-champion.”
He added: “Lahat ng experiences ko and natutunan ko sa mga nangyari sa career ko, nadadala ko dito sa team namin and yung mga maitutulong ko sa team ginagawa ko talaga as much as I can.”
Almazan, who won a PBA title with the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, also hopes to provide a big difference for the Bolts that seek to finally hit pay dirt against two-time tormentor Kings.
“Sa dalawang finals nila wala silang big man eh, so nandito na ako ngayon medyo mapapadali na trabaho sa amin,” said Almazan. “Sa presence ko siguro makakatulong ako this coming finals namin.”
According to the 31-year-old player, “Gusto ko ‘yun kasi mga big man talaga makakalaban. Masasabi mong matchup ‘yung finals,” referring to the Kings’ frontline of Gregory Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar.
The Bolts and the Kings just took a little break during the holidays to gear up for Round 3 of their battle for the Governors’ Cup title beginning Jan. 7 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum./PN
