ALMAZAN THANKS COACHES AS HE MOVES ON FROM VIRAL TRAFFIC VIOLATION INCIDENT

MANILA, Philippines: Meralco veteran big man Raymond Almazan's double-double effort did much of the talking on Sunday after the Bolts dealt the Magnolia Hotshots a 74-51 beating on Sunday.

The 34-year-old Almazan keyed the Bolts' defensive effort, where his team's unforgiving held Magnolia to a mere seven points in the second quarter and 34 in the first half, both season-lows, heading to Meralco's 23-point triumph.

Almazan admitted his traffic violations in EDSA last week that went viral bothered him a lot.

In fact, after missing the team's game against Converge that saw Meralco suffer a 104-99 loss, Almazan came back from a one-game suspension, though he could only contribute three points and four boards in their 82-76 win against Phoenix.

"I want to let it (traffic violation situation) go, pero alam natin yung surrounding ng social media. I'm not a perfect person. Lahat tayo nagkamali, I said sorry already, it was an honest mistake," Almazan said, when asked to comment on Sunday.

The former Letran standout said he felt bad with what did, knowing that his lack of prudence affected the Bolts as a whole.

Being the co-captain of the team, Almazan said his action let his team down.

But he remains thankful for Meralco coaches Nenad Vucinic and Luigi Trillo, who supported him during this difficult time that helped him bounce back.

"I want to show it today especially may sinasabi sa amin si coach Nenad (Vucivic) at coach Luigi (Trillo) na 'yung mga vets, kailangan mag-step up because our backs are against the wall," explained Almazan.

Almazan said he's gone a long way with Trillo, who used to be his coach in the PBA D-League.

"Coach Luigi has known me since D-League days. He is the one who lifts me up every game. If we have a bad game, he is always there who says, 'Raymond, I trust you. I believe in you.' Even our coaching staff, coach Nenad. 'Those type of issue disappears.' Now I just focus on the game because I really want our team to make it to the quarterfinals," he added.

Meralco is currently tied for sixth to eighth spots with Rain or Shine and Terrafirma with similar 5-5 records.

The Bolts will try to end the elims with a victory against unbeaten San Miguel Beermen this coming Saturday in Batangas City.

2024-04-29T14:18:53Z dg43tfdfdgfd