2022–23 Meralco Bolts season

The 2022–23 Meralco Bolts season was the 12th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

2022–23 Meralco Bolts season
Head coach	Norman Black Luigi Trillo (interim)[1]
Owner(s)	Manila Electric Company (an MVP group subsidiary)
Philippine Cup results
Record	7–4 (63.6%)
Place	5th
Playoff finish	Semifinalist (lost to San Miguel, 3–4)
Commissioner's Cup results
Record	4–8 (33.3%)
Place	10th
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Governors' Cup results
Record	7–4 (63.6%)
Place	4th
Playoff finish	Semifinalist (lost to TNT, 1–3)
Meralco Bolts seasons
← 2021 2023–24  →

Key dates

• May 15: The PBA Season 47 draft was held at the Robinsons Place Manila in Manila.^[2]
• June 6: After Norman Black files leave for personal reasons, Luigi Trillo acted as standing-in head coach and won his first game against the Elasto Painters.^[1]
• July 31: The Bolts won against the Gin Kings for the first time in a playoff series.^[3]
• August 5: Norman Black returned to the sidelines, as he led the Bolts to tie the semifinals series (1–1) against the San Miguel Beermen.^[4]

Draft picks

Main article: PBA Season 47 draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Place of birth	College
2	22	Christian Fajarito	C	Philippines	Letran
3	34	JJ Espanola	G	Philippines	UP Diliman
4	42	Andrey Armenion	G	Philippines	UE

Roster

2022–23 Meralco Bolts roster

Players	Coaches
Pos. # POB Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From G 1 Aaron Black 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1996–12–03 Ateneo G 4 Diego Dario 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 145 lb (66 kg) 1997–01–06 UP Diliman G 6 Chris Banchero 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1989–01–24 Seattle Pacific F 7 Cliff Hodge 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1988–02–03 Reedley G/F 11 Chris Newsome 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1990–07–25 Ateneo F 12 Mac Belo 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1993–02–12 Far Eastern G 15 Franky Johnson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1993–08–15 Warner Pacific G 17 Anjo Caram 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 159 lb (72 kg) 1991–01–14 San Beda F 19 Bong Quinto 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 1994–12–15 Letran C 20 Raymond Almazan (C) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 1989–08–02 Letran F 21 Reynel Hugnatan 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1978–11–03 Manila F 22 Allein Maliksi 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1987–09–18 UST F 23 Alvin Pasaol 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1995–05–06 UE F 24 Raymar Jose 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1992–08–06 Far Eastern F 27 Jansen Rios 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1991–10–28 Adamson F/C 32 Kyle Pascual 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1990–04–13 San Beda F/C 97 Nonoy Baclao 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1987–06–15 Ateneo	Head coach Norman Black Assistant coach(es) Ronnie Magsanoc (1st assistant) Gene Afable Patrick Fran Luigi Trillo Nenad Vučinić (consultant) Team manager Paolo Trillo Legend (C) Team captain (CI) Commissioner's Cup Import (GI) Governors' Cup Import (EI) EASL Import (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (S) Suspended (R) Rookie Injured Roster

Philippine Cup

Eliminations

Standings

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

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^[5]
Notes:

1. Head-to-head quotient:TNT 1.12, Magnolia 0.99, Barangay Ginebra 0.90
2. Head-to-head record: Converge 1–0 Blackwater
3. Head-to-head record: NorthPort 1–0 Phoenix

Game log

2022 PBA Philippine Cup game log Total: 7–4
June: 3–3 Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 June 11 Phoenix Super LPG W 109–98 Chris Newsome (21) Cliff Hodge (10) Chris Newsome (7) Ynares Center 1–0 2 June 16 Converge W 90–74 Aaron Black (25) Raymond Almazan (15) Black, Newsome (5) Ynares Center 2–0 3 June 18 TNT L 71–78 Allein Maliksi (20) Cliff Hodge (9) Bong Quinto (4) Ynares Center 2–1 4 June 23 NorthPort W 97–87 Aaron Black (20) Raymar Jose (13) Black, Newsome (7) Ynares Center 3–1 5 June 25 NLEX L 75–90 Chris Newsome (17) Raymar Jose (9) Banchero, Newsome (3) Ynares Center 3–2 6 June 30 Blackwater L 89–90 Chris Newsome (23) Cliff Hodge (7) Bong Quinto (8) Smart Araneta Coliseum 3–3
July: 4–1 Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 7 July 6 Rain or Shine W 77–73 Aaron Black (20) Raymond Almazan (15) Aaron Black (6) Smart Araneta Coliseum 4–3 8 July 13 Barangay Ginebra W 90–73 Chris Newsome (19) Raymond Almazan (15) Black, Quinto (5) Smart Araneta Coliseum 5–3 9 July 15 Magnolia L 88–97 (OT) Chris Newsome (24) Raymond Almazan (18) Aaron Black (7) Ynares Center 5–4 10 July 17 San Miguel W 89–86 Allein Maliksi (18) Cliff Hodge (11) Black, Hodge, Newsome (5) Smart Araneta Coliseum 6–4 11 July 21 Terrafirma W 105–89 Chris Newsome (19) Raymond Almazan (9) Banchero, Black, Newsome (5) Smart Araneta Coliseum 7–4

Playoffs

Bracket

	Quarterfinals					Semifinals (Best-of-7)					Finals (Best-of-7)
	(#1 twice-to-beat)
	1	San Miguel	123
	8	Blackwater	93
						1	San Miguel	4
	(Best-of-3)
						5	Meralco	3
	4	Barangay Ginebra	1
	5	Meralco	2
											1	San Miguel	4
	(#2 twice-to-beat)
											2	TNT	3
	2	TNT	116
	7	Converge	95
						2	TNT	4
	(Best-of-3)
						3	Magnolia	2
	3	Magnolia	2
	6	NLEX	1

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Game log

2022 PBA Philippine Cup playoffs game log Total: 5–5
Quarterfinals: 2–1 Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 July 24 Barangay Ginebra W 93–82 Aaron Black (25) Newsome, Pascual (9) Chris Newsome (6) Smart Araneta Coliseum 1–0 2 July 29 Barangay Ginebra L 87–94 Cliff Hodge (25) Raymond Almazan (10) Chris Newsome (6) Filoil EcoOil Centre 1–1 3 July 31 Barangay Ginebra W 106–104 Chris Newsome (21) Cliff Hodge (18) Chris Newsome (12) SM Mall of Asia Arena 2–1
Semifinals: 3–4 Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 August 3 San Miguel L 97–121 Chris Banchero (17) Almazan, Jose, Newsome, Quinto (6) Chris Banchero (5) Smart Araneta Coliseum 0–1 2 August 5 San Miguel W 99–88 Cliff Hodge (17) Cliff Hodge (14) Chris Newsome (5) Smart Araneta Coliseum 1–1 3 August 7 San Miguel L 91–96 Chris Newsome (16) Cliff Hodge (13) Chris Newsome (6) Smart Araneta Coliseum 1–2 4 August 10 San Miguel W 111–97 Aaron Black (21) Black, Hodge (7) Aaron Black (7) Smart Araneta Coliseum 2–2 5 August 12 San Miguel L 78–89 Chris Newsome (24) Aaron Black (11) Black, Newsome (4) Smart Araneta Coliseum 2–3 6 August 14 San Miguel W 96–92 Chris Newsome (19) Cliff Hodge (12) Aaron Black (6) Smart Araneta Coliseum 9,439 3–3 7 August 17 San Miguel L 89–100 Cliff Hodge (23) Cliff Hodge (8) Banchero, Hodge, Newsome (4) Smart Araneta Coliseum 3–4

Commissioner's Cup

Eliminations

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	Bay Area Dragons (G)	10	2	.833[a]	—	Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals
2	Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots	10	2	.833[a]	—
3	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	9	3	.750	1	Best-of-three quarterfinals
4	Converge FiberXers	8	4	.667	2
5	San Miguel Beermen	7	5	.583	3
6	NorthPort Batang Pier	6	6	.500[b]	4
7	Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters	6	6	.500[b]	4	Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals
8	Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	5	7	.417[c]	5
9	NLEX Road Warriors	5	7	.417[c]	5
10	Meralco Bolts	4	8	.333[d]	6
11	TNT Tropang Giga	4	8	.333[d]	6
12	Blackwater Bossing	3	9	.250	7
13	Terrafirma Dyip	1	11	.083	9

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^[5]
(G) Guests
Notes:

1. Head-to-head record: Bay Area 1–0 Magnolia
2. Head-to-head record: NorthPort 1–0 Phoenix
3. Eighth seed playoff: Rain or Shine 110–100 NLEX
4. Head-to-head record: Meralco 1–0 TNT

Game log

2022–23 PBA Commissioner's Cup game log Total: 4–8
September: 0–1 Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 September 30, 2022 NorthPort L 95–101 (OT) Johnny O'Bryant III (30) Johnny O'Bryant III (22) Aaron Black (7) Smart Araneta Coliseum 0–1
October: 1–4 Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 2 October 2, 2022 Barangay Ginebra L 91–99 Johnny O'Bryant III (31) Johnny O'Bryant III (16) Aaron Black (9) Smart Araneta Coliseum 0–2 3 October 7, 2022 Terrafirma W 105–92 Johnny O'Bryant III (31) Johnny O'Bryant III (11) Chris Banchero (7) Smart Araneta Coliseum 1–2 4 October 15, 2022 Converge L 99–106 Johnny O'Bryant III (27) Johnny O'Bryant III (15) Aaron Black (6) Smart Araneta Coliseum 1–3 5 October 19, 2022 Phoenix Super LPG L 82–89 Bong Quinto (22) Johnny O'Bryant III (16) Johnny O'Bryant III (9) PhilSports Arena 1–4 6 October 22, 2022 Rain or Shine L 96–113 Johnny O'Bryant III (30) Raymond Almazan (12) Black, O'Bryant (5) PhilSports Arena 1–5
November: 3–2 Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 7 November 4, 2022 Bay Area W 92–89 K. J. McDaniels (31) Raymond Almazan (16) Banchero, Black (2) Smart Araneta Coliseum 2–5 8 November 11, 2022 Blackwater W 102–98 (OT) K. J. McDaniels (26) K. J. McDaniels (16) K. J. McDaniels (5) Ynares Center 3–5 9 November 16, 2022 TNT W 97–91 K. J. McDaniels (26) K. J. McDaniels (15) Aaron Black (6) Smart Araneta Coliseum 4–5 10 November 27, 2022 Magnolia L 96–108 K. J. McDaniels (32) K. J. McDaniels (9) Chris Banchero (5) PhilSports Arena 4–6 11 November 30, 2022 NLEX L 81–92 K. J. McDaniels (22) Hodge, McDaniels (9) Aaron Black (4) PhilSports Arena 4–7
December: 0–1 Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 12 December 2, 2022 San Miguel L 108–113 K. J. McDaniels (27) Raymar Jose (17) Anjo Caram (6) PhilSports Arena 4–8

Governors' Cup

Eliminations

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	TNT Tropang Giga	10	1	.909	—	Twice-to-beat in quarterfinals
2	San Miguel Beermen	9	2	.818	1
3	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	8	3	.727	2
4	Meralco Bolts	7	4	.636[a]	3
5	Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots	7	4	.636[a]	3	Twice-to-win in quarterfinals
6	NLEX Road Warriors	7	4	.636[a]	3
7	Converge FiberXers	6	5	.545	4
8	Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters	4	7	.364	6
9	NorthPort Batang Pier	3	8	.273	7
10	Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	2	9	.182	8
11	Terrafirma Dyip	2	9	.182	8
12	Blackwater Bossing	1	10	.091	9

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^[5]
Notes:

1. Head-to-head quotient: Meralco 1.099, Magnolia 1.0741, NLEX 0.86

Game log

2023 PBA Governors' Cup game log Total: 7–4
January: 2–1 Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 January 22 Rain or Shine W 105–87 K. J. McDaniels (27) K. J. McDaniels (23) Chris Newsome (6) PhilSports Arena 1–0 2 January 26 NorthPort W 107–102 K. J. McDaniels (32) K. J. McDaniels (22) Chris Newsome (6) PhilSports Arena 2–0 3 January 28 Terrafirma L 88–96 K. J. McDaniels (29) K. J. McDaniels (19) Black, McDaniels (4) Ynares Center 2–1
February: 3–2 Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 4 February 4 Blackwater W 125–99 Allein Maliksi (30) K. J. McDaniels (15) K. J. McDaniels (8) Ynares Center 3–1 5 February 9 San Miguel L 86–94 McDaniels, Newsome (18) K. J. McDaniels (13) Chris Newsome (5) Smart Araneta Coliseum 3–2 6 February 17 TNT L 104–111 K. J. McDaniels (26) K. J. McDaniels (15) Chris Newsome (4) Smart Araneta Coliseum 3–3 7 February 23 NLEX W 114–98 K. J. McDaniels (31) K. J. McDaniels (21) Chris Newsome (8) PhilSports Arena 4–3 8 February 26 Magnolia W 86–84 K. J. McDaniels (19) K. J. McDaniels (15) Aaron Black (4) Smart Araneta Coliseum 5–3
March: 2–1 Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 9 March 1 Barangay Ginebra L 107–112 K. J. McDaniels (28) K. J. McDaniels (11) Banchero, Black (5) Smart Araneta Coliseum 5–4 10 March 3 Converge W 132–129 (OT) K. J. McDaniels (33) K. J. McDaniels (12) Black, Hodge (5) Smart Araneta Coliseum 6–4 11 March 5 Phoenix Super LPG W 92–86 K. J. McDaniels (19) K. J. McDaniels (16) Chris Newsome (9) PhilSports Arena 7–4

Playoffs

Bracket

	Quarterfinals (Top 4 twice-to-beat)					Semifinals (Best-of-5)					Finals (Best-of-7)
	1	TNT	132
	8	Phoenix Super LPG	105
						1	TNT	3
						4	Meralco	1
	4	Meralco	113*
	5	Magnolia	107
											1	TNT	4
											3	Barangay Ginebra	2
	2	San Miguel	121
	7	Converge	105
						2	San Miguel	0
						3	Barangay Ginebra	3
	3	Barangay Ginebra	127
	6	NLEX	93

*Game went into overtime

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Game log

2023 PBA Governors' Cup playoffs game log Total: 2–3
Quarterfinals: 1–0 Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 March 22 Magnolia W 113–107 (OT) Chris Newsome (33) Aaron Black (12) Chris Newsome (7) Smart Araneta Coliseum 1–0
Semifinals: 1–3 Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 March 24 TNT L 80–110 K. J. McDaniels (12) K. J. McDaniels (14) Aaron Black (5) Ynares Center 0–1 2 March 26 TNT W 124–117 (OT) K. J. McDaniels (39) K. J. McDaniels (20) Aaron Black (10) Ynares Center 1–1 3 March 29 TNT L 80–99 K. J. McDaniels (30) Aaron Black (11) Chris Newsome (5) Smart Araneta Coliseum 1–2 4 March 31 TNT L 92–107 K. J. McDaniels (37) K. J. McDaniels (12) Aaron Black (7) Smart Araneta Coliseum 1–3

Transactions

Free agency

Signings

Player	Date signed	Contract amount	Contract length	Former team
Aaron Black	May 24, 2022[6]	Not disclosed	2 years	Re-signed
Kyle Pascual	May 26, 2022[7]			Terrafirma Dyip
Jansen Rios	January 19, 2023[8]		1 year	Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters
Diego Dario	January 24, 2023[9]		1 conference	Davao Occidental Tigers (PSL)

Recruited imports

Tournament	Name	Debuted	Last game	Record
Commissioner's Cup	Johnny O'Bryant III	September 30, 2022 (vs. NorthPort)	October 22, 2022 (vs. Rain or Shine)	1–5
	K. J. McDaniels	November 4, 2022 (vs. Bay Area)	December 2, 2022 (vs. San Miguel)	3–3
Governors' Cup		January 22, 2023 (vs. Rain or Shine)	March 31, 2023 (vs. TNT)	9–7

Awards

Recipient	Honors	Date awarded
Cliff Hodge	2022–23 PBA All-Defensive Team	November 5, 2023[10]
Chris Newsome