Dribble drive fails Meralco

Sol Train elevated his game this Pinoy Cup

There's something to be said about betting all your chips on one racehorse. For the Meralco Bolts, who were eliminated by budding rival Alaska Aces (because of the magnetic Clifford Hodge vs Calvin Abueva dynamic), it's their over-reliance on the Dribble Drive Offense anchored solely on star guard Sol Mercado.

Yes the numbers are there for Mercado, and he's our top guy when it comes to the Best Player of the Conference plum (outside of Talk 'n' Text's Jayson Castro and Rain or Shine's Jervy Cruz), but it just took so much out of the whole Bolts' offense at times that it made them look predictable. Predictable enough for a sophomore coach like Luigi Trillo, who hasn't really won anything meaningful anywhere, to solve what our Philippine National team SMART Gilas carried all the way to the Jones Cup title months back.

The difference with Gilas and the Bolts is simple: Gilas had a bunch of guards who ran the DDO with Mercado coming off the bench and playing in spurts while the Bolts only have Mercado to initiate it for a full 48 minutes. We recognize Mercado's vast improvement this year into elite player status with his growing consistency, but we don't want him running himself dead by continuously slashing into the paint and trying to make things happen. That's plain suicidal and the easiest way to burn a player out.

Also, Gilas played in short tournaments (despite back-to-back playdates). The Bolts played in a long conference, where teams are able to bounce back and strategize how to best defend the DDO. Kumbaga, nawawala ung "gulpi de gulat" efficiency ng DDO.

Credit goes to the Aces for solving the Bolts' attack. The switching was excellent, the help defense on Mercado was solid, plus, it pays having a legit big in Sonny Thoss down low ready to challenge.

What's next for Meralco next conference? Obviously, they need a big man-- they don't need another scorer, Mercado, Ronjay Buenafe and now third option (sigh) Mac Cardona can take care of that. A big man who has moves down low and can control the shaded lane would open things up. The DDO needs a trustworthy big man down low to help space the floor and serve as a failsafe scoring option (hindi ung puro kickout sa tres lang tapos bahala na si Batman).

Hopefully, Mercado keeps this newfound level of consistency up. Someone tell him to work on his mid-range game, he'll be unstoppable.