LUIGI Trillo proved to be prophetic in saying rookie Brandon Bates will be huge for Meralco in its PBA Philippine Cup semifinals series against Barangay Ginebra.
The 6-foot-9 rookie was a towering force for the Bolts in their do-or-die encounter Friday night as he held his own against veteran Fil-German Christian Standhardinger in their 78-69 win at the FPJ Arena in San Jose, Batangas.
Trillo said before the series Bates will play a crucial role in the franchise’s bid for a first ever Philippine Cup finals stint.
“I said it before the series, I said Brandon would be big for us because Raymond (Almazan) is doing his share, Kyle (Pascual) is doing his share, Norbert (Torres). I’m sure these guys appreciate the things that Brandon does,” said the Meralco coach.
And who wouldn’t be?
Bates, a first round pick of Meralco in the last draft, scored six points, and grabbed game-highs of 13 rebounds and six block shots.
And of course, he held the 6-foot-8 Standhardinger to just 16 points on 6-of-17 shooting from the field and 4-of-12 from the foul line.
The solid performance easily made Trillo to make comparison between Bates and his former Alaska player Sonny Thoss.
“He reminds me of a young Sonny Thoss where he does the dirty work,” said the Meralco coach. “But (Game 7), he needed to help Raymond (Almazan) out. In Game 6, Raymond played well and Brandon was OK. In Game 7, Raymond was struggling a little bit at the start and Brandon picked it up.”
Bates did and now the Bolts are back in the finals for the fifth time and will be up against top seed and defending champion San Miguel Beermen.
The best-of-seven finals kick off on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. (RG)
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