# 2017–18 Meralco Bolts season

The 2017–18 Meralco Bolts season was the eighth season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

## Key dates
### 2017

* October 29: The 2017 PBA draft took place in Midtown Atrium, Robinson Place Manila.

## Draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | PBA D-League team | College |
| 3 | 7 | Jebb Bulawan | F | Philippines | Racal Tile Masters Team Batangas | Lyceum |

## Philippine Cup
### Eliminations
#### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | San Miguel Beermen | 8 | 3 | .727 | — | Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals |
| 2 | Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok | 8 | 3 | .727 | — | Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals |
| 3 | Alaska Aces | 7 | 4 | .636 | 1 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 4 | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 6 | 5 | .545 | 2 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 5 | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | 6 | 5 | .545 | 2 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 6 | NLEX Road Warriors | 6 | 5 | .545 | 2 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 7 | GlobalPort Batang Pier | 5 | 6 | .455 | 3 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 8 | TNT KaTropa | 5 | 6 | .455 | 3 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 9 | Phoenix Fuel Masters | 5 | 6 | .455 | 3 | |
| 10 | Blackwater Elite | 5 | 6 | .455 | 3 | |
| 11 | Meralco Bolts | 4 | 7 | .364 | 4 | |
| 12 | Kia Picanto | 1 | 10 | .091 | 7 | |
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: San Miguel 1–0 Magnolia
* 1 2 3 Head-to-head quotient: Barangay Ginebra 1.03, Rain or Shine 1.02, NLEX 0.95
* 1 2 3 4 Head-to-head quotient: GlobalPort 1.14, Phoenix 1.00, TNT 0.97, Blackwater 0.89; #8 seed playoff: TNT defeated Phoenix

#### Game log

2018 PBA Philippine Cup game log Total: 4–7 :
December: 1–1
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
December 22
Blackwater
W 103–98
KG Canaleta (25)
Jason Ballesteros (12)
Baser Amer (12)
Cuneta Astrodome
1–0
2
December 27
San Miguel
L 97–103
Mike Tolomia (21)
Chris Newsome (13)
Baser Amer (9)
Ynares Center
1–1 :
January: 1–3
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
3
January 10
Alaska
L 98–103
Chris Newsome (23)
KG Canaleta (10)
Amer, Newsome (4)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
1–2
4
January 21
TNT
L 81–99
Baser Amer (20)
Amer, Ballesteros (6)
Baser Amer (6)
Ynares Center
1–3
5
January 24
Kia
W 105–76
KG Canaleta (17)
Chris Newsome (7)
Baser Amer (9)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
2–3
6
January 28
GlobalPort
L 88–107
Hugnatan, Newsome (17)
Cliff Hodge (8)
three players (3)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
2–4 :
February: 2–3
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
7
February 2
Rain or Shine
L 84–90
KG Canaleta (24)
Chris Newsome (11)
Chris Newsome (7)
Mall of Asia Arena
2–5
8
February 9
NLEX
L 85–87
Nico Salva (20)
Chris Newsome (10)
Chris Newsome (7)
Cuneta Astrodome
2–6
9
February 14
Phoenix
W 92–90
Garvo Lanete (24)
Jason Ballesteros (12)
Chris Newsome (5)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
3–6
10
February 18
Barangay Ginebra
W 84–82
Garvo Lanete (19)
Jason Ballesteros (17)
Chris Newsome (6)
Philippine Arena
4–6
11
February 24
Magnolia
L 65–94
Chris Newsome (13)
Jason Ballesteros (9)
Chris Newsome (3)
Xavier University Gym
4–7 :

## Commissioner's Cup
### Eliminations
#### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | 9 | 2 | .818 | — | Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals |
| 2 | Alaska Aces | 8 | 3 | .727 | 1 | Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals |
| 3 | TNT KaTropa | 8 | 3 | .727 | 1 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 4 | Meralco Bolts | 7 | 4 | .636 | 2 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 5 | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 6 | 5 | .545 | 3 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 6 | San Miguel Beermen | 6 | 5 | .545 | 3 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 7 | Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok | 6 | 5 | .545 | 3 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 8 | GlobalPort Batang Pier | 5 | 6 | .455 | 4 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 9 | Columbian Dyip | 4 | 7 | .364 | 5 | |
| 10 | Phoenix Fuel Masters | 4 | 7 | .364 | 5 | |
| 11 | NLEX Road Warriors | 2 | 9 | .182 | 7 | |
| 12 | Blackwater Elite | 1 | 10 | .091 | 8 | |
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Alaska 1–0 TNT
* 1 2 3 Head-to-head quotient: Barangay Ginebra 1.07, San Miguel 1.02, Magnolia 0.92
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Columbian 1–0 Phoenix

#### Game log

2018 PBA Commissioner's Cup game log Total: 7–4 :
April: 1–1
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
April 25
Columbian
W 116–103
Arinze Onuaku (30)
Arinze Onuaku (19)
Chris Newsome (7)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
1–0
2
April 27
GlobalPort
L 85–86
KG Canaleta (28)
Arinze Onuaku (14)
Baser Amer (8)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
1–1 :
May: 2–1
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
3
May 4
NLEX
W 106–90
Chris Newsome (30)
Arinze Onuaku (23)
Baser Amer (6)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
2–1
4
May 9
San Miguel
W 93–85
Baser Amer (28)
Arinze Onuaku (12)
Arinze Onuaku (8)
Mall of Asia Arena
3–1
5
May 18
Magnolia
L 79–81
Arinze Onuaku (23)
Arinze Onuaku (11)
Newsome, Onuaku (7)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
3–2
All-Star Break :
June: 4–2
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
6
June 1
Barangay Ginebra
W 93–82
Arinze Onuaku (24)
Arinze Onuaku (23)
Anjo Caram (7)
Mall of Asia Arena
4–2
7
June 8
Phoenix
W 103–100 (OT)
KG Canaleta (30)
Arinze Onuaku (20)
Arinze Onuaku (10)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
5–2
8
June 15
Blackwater
W 102–75
Arinze Onuaku (17)
Arinze Onuaku (16)
Chris Newsome (6)
Mall of Asia Arena
6–2
9
June 17
Alaska
W 89–74
Chris Newsome (18)
Arinze Onuaku (23)
Chris Newsome (8)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
7–2
10
June 22
TNT
L 85–91
Chris Newsome (17)
Arinze Onuaku (11)
Hodge, Onuaku (4)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
7–3
11
June 24
Rain or Shine
L 99–106 (OT)
Chris Newsome (21)
Arinze Onuaku (11)
Chris Newsome (11)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
7–4 :

### Playoffs
#### Bracket

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals (best-of-5) | Semifinals (best-of-5) | Semifinals (best-of-5) | finals (best-of-7) | finals (best-of-7) | finals (best-of-7) |
| (#1 twice-to-beat) | (#1 twice-to-beat) | (#1 twice-to-beat) | (#1 twice-to-beat) | | | | | | |
| 1 | Rain or Shine | 113 | 103 | | | | | | |
| 8 | GlobalPort | 114 | 97 | | | | | | |
| 8 | GlobalPort | 114 | 97 | 1 | Rain or Shine | 1 | | | |
| (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | 1 | Rain or Shine | 1 | | | |
| (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | 5 | Barangay Ginebra | 3 | | | |
| 4 | Meralco | Meralco | 0 | 5 | Barangay Ginebra | 3 | | | |
| 5 | Barangay Ginebra | Barangay Ginebra | 2 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Barangay Ginebra | Barangay Ginebra | 2 | | | | 5 | Barangay Ginebra | 4 |
| (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | | | | 5 | Barangay Ginebra | 4 |
| (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | | | | 6 | San Miguel | 2 |
| 2 | Alaska | Alaska | 89 | | | | 6 | San Miguel | 2 |
| 7 | Magnolia | Magnolia | 78 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Magnolia | Magnolia | 78 | 2 | Alaska | 1 | | | |
| (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | 2 | Alaska | 1 | | | |
| (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | 6 | San Miguel | 3 | | | |
| 3 | TNT | TNT | 0 | 6 | San Miguel | 3 | | | |
| 6 | San Miguel | San Miguel | 2 | | | | | | |
* view
* talk

#### Game log

2018 PBA Commissioner's Cup playoffs game log Total: 0–2 :
Quarterfinals: 0–2
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
July 9
Barangay Ginebra
L 81–88
Baser Amer (15)
Arinze Onuaku (18)
Chris Newsome (7)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
0–1
2
July 11
Barangay Ginebra
L 90–104
Arinze Onuaku (21)
Arinze Onuaku (13)
Amer, Newsome (4)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
0–2 :

## Governors' Cup
### Eliminations
#### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 9 | 2 | .818 | — | Twice-to-beat in quarterfinals |
| 2 | Phoenix Fuel Masters | 8 | 3 | .727 | 1 | Twice-to-beat in quarterfinals |
| 3 | Alaska Aces | 8 | 3 | .727 | 1 | Twice-to-beat in quarterfinals |
| 4 | Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok | 8 | 3 | .727 | 1 | Twice-to-beat in quarterfinals |
| 5 | Blackwater Elite | 7 | 4 | .636 | 2 | Twice-to-win in quarterfinals |
| 6 | San Miguel Beermen | 6 | 5 | .545 | 3 | Twice-to-win in quarterfinals |
| 7 | Meralco Bolts | 5 | 6 | .455 | 4 | Twice-to-win in quarterfinals |
| 8 | NLEX Road Warriors | 5 | 6 | .455 | 4 | Twice-to-win in quarterfinals |
| 9 | TNT KaTropa | 4 | 7 | .364 | 5 | |
| 10 | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | 3 | 8 | .273 | 6 | |
| 11 | NorthPort Batang Pier | 2 | 9 | .182 | 7 | |
| 12 | Columbian Dyip | 1 | 10 | .091 | 8 | |
* 1 2 3 Head-to-head quotient: Phoenix 1.011, Alaska 1.006, Magnolia 0.982
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Meralco 1–0 NLEX

#### Game log

2018 PBA Governors' Cup game log Total: 5–6 :
August: 1–2
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
August 17
Columbian
W 109–106
Allen Durham (26)
Allen Durham (20)
Allen Durham (9)
Ynares Center
1–0
2
August 19
TNT
L 90–92
Allen Durham (27)
Allen Durham (22)
Allen Durham (8)
Ynares Center
1–1
3
August 24
Alaska
L 72–80
Allen Durham (21)
Allen Durham (11)
Baser Amer (5)
Mall of Asia Arena
1–2 :
September: 0–1
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
4
September 19
Phoenix
L 86–96
Chris Newsome (18)
Allen Durham (13)
Allen Durham (9)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
1–3 :
October: 3–3
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
5
October 5
Blackwater
L 91–94
Allen Durham (32)
Allen Durham (21)
Allen Durham (6)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
1–4
6
October 7
Barangay Ginebra
L 105–111
Allen Durham (36)
Allen Durham (16)
Allen Durham (9)
Sta. Rosa Multi-Purpose Complex
1–5
7
October 12
NorthPort
L 94–99
Allen Durham (37)
Allen Durham (19)
Allen Durham (7)
Mall of Asia Arena
1–6
8
October 14
NLEX
W 108–105
Allen Durham (36)
Allen Durham (18)
Chris Newsome (9)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
2–6
9
October 19
Magnolia
W 94–88
Allen Durham (20)
Allen Durham (18)
Durham, Newsome (8)
Ynares Center
3–6
10
October 21
Rain or Shine
W 91–82
Allen Durham (19)
Allen Durham (20)
three players (6)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
4–6 :
November: 1–0
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
11
November 3
San Miguel
W 111–81
Allen Durham (35)
Allen Durham (26)
Chris Newsome (12)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
5–6 :

### Playoffs
#### Bracket

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals (best-of-5) | Semifinals (best-of-5) | Semifinals (best-of-5) | Finals (best-of-7) | Finals (best-of-7) | Finals (best-of-7) |
| (#1 twice-to-beat) | (#1 twice-to-beat) | (#1 twice-to-beat) | (#1 twice-to-beat) | | | | | | |
| 1 | Barangay Ginebra | Barangay Ginebra | 111 | | | | | | |
| 8 | NLEX | NLEX | 75 | | | | | | |
| 8 | NLEX | NLEX | 75 | 1 | Barangay Ginebra | 1 | | | |
| (#4 twice-to-beat) | (#4 twice-to-beat) | (#4 twice-to-beat) | (#4 twice-to-beat) | 1 | Barangay Ginebra | 1 | | | |
| (#4 twice-to-beat) | (#4 twice-to-beat) | (#4 twice-to-beat) | (#4 twice-to-beat) | 4 | Magnolia | 3 | | | |
| 4 | Magnolia | Magnolia | 103 | 4 | Magnolia | 3 | | | |
| 5 | Blackwater | Blackwater | 99 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Blackwater | Blackwater | 99 | | | | 4 | Magnolia | 4 |
| (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | | | | 4 | Magnolia | 4 |
| (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | | | | 3 | Alaska | 2 |
| 2 | Phoenix | 74 | 103 | | | | 3 | Alaska | 2 |
| 7 | Meralco | 90 | 108* | | | | | | |
| 7 | Meralco | 90 | 108* | 7 | Meralco | 1 | | | |
| (#3 twice-to-beat) | (#3 twice-to-beat) | (#3 twice-to-beat) | (#3 twice-to-beat) | 7 | Meralco | 1 | | | |
| (#3 twice-to-beat) | (#3 twice-to-beat) | (#3 twice-to-beat) | (#3 twice-to-beat) | 3 | Alaska | 3 | | | |
| 3 | Alaska | Alaska | 96 | 3 | Alaska | 3 | | | |
| 6 | San Miguel | San Miguel | 85 | | | | | | |
*Game went into overtime.
* view
* talk

#### Game log

2018 PBA Governors' Cup playoffs game log Total: 3–3 :
Quarterfinals: 2–0
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
November 7
Phoenix
W 90–74
Allen Durham (26)
Allen Durham (16)
Baser Amer (6)
Cuneta Astrodome
1–0
2
November 9
Phoenix
W 108–103 (OT)
Allen Durham (32)
Allen Durham (21)
Allen Durham (9)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
2–0 :
Semifinals: 1–3
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
November 11
Alaska
W 97–92
Allen Durham (32)
Allen Durham (14)
Allen Durham (6)
Ynares Center
1–0
2
November 13
Alaska
L 95–100
Allen Durham (24)
Allen Durham (9)
Allen Durham (12)
Mall of Asia Arena
1–1
3
November 15
Alaska
L 102–104
Allen Durham (37)
Allen Durham (13)
Allen Durham (8)
Cuneta Astrodome
1–2
4
November 17
Alaska
L 92–99
Allen Durham (31)
Allen Durham (14)
Chris Newsome (7)
Cuneta Astrodome
1–3 :

## FIBA Asia Champions Cup

The Bolts were chosen as the Philippine representative to the 2018 FIBA Asia Champions Cup.

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Alvark Tokyo | 3 | 3 | 0 | 279 | 249 | +30 | 6 | Final round |
| 2 | Meralco Bolts | 3 | 1 | 2 | 261 | 247 | +14 | 4 | Final round |
| 3 | Mono Vampire (H) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 300 | 306 | −6 | 4 | Classification round |
| 4 | Al Riyadi | 3 | 1 | 2 | 245 | 283 | −38 | 4 | Classification round |
* 1 2 3 Meralco 1–1, +25 PD; Mono 1–1, +2 PD; Al Riyadi 1–1, −27 PD

### Final round

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Gold medal game | Gold medal game |
| 1 October–18:00 | 1 October–18:00 |
| Petrochimi | 79 |
| Petrochimi | 79 | 2 October–20:30 | 2 October–20:30 |
| Meralco Bolts | 74 | 2 October–20:30 | 2 October–20:30 |
| Meralco Bolts | 74 | Petrochimi | 68 |
| 1 October–20:30 | 1 October–20:30 | | Petrochimi | 68 |
| 1 October–20:30 | 1 October–20:30 | Alvark Tokyo | 64 |
| Alvark Tokyo | 78 | Alvark Tokyo | 64 |
| Seoul SK Knights | 54 | | |
| Seoul SK Knights | 54 | Bronze medal game | Bronze medal game |
| | | 2 October–18:00 | 2 October–18:00 |
| | | Meralco Bolts | 87 |
| | | Seoul SK Knights | 91 |

## Transactions
### Free Agency
#### Addition

| Player | Number | Position | Contract | Date signed | Former Team |
| Niño Canaleta | 12 | F | — | — | Blackwater Elite |
| Nico Salva | 8 | F | — | — | Kia Picanto |
| Marnel Baracael | 45 | F | — | — | GlobalPort Batang Pier |
| Jason Ballesteros | 18 | C | — | — | Kia Picanto |

### Recruited imports

| Conference | Name | Number | Debuted | Last game | Record |
| Commissioner's Cup | Arinze Onuaku | 5 | April 25 (vs. Columbian) | July 11 (vs. Barangay Ginebra) | 7–6 |
| Governors' Cup | Allen Durham | 5 | August 17 (vs. Columbian) | November 17 (vs. Alaska) | 8–9 |
| FIBA Asia Champions Cup | Allen Durham | 5 | September 27 (vs. Mono Vampire) | October 2 (vs. SK Knights) | 1–4 |
| FIBA Asia Champions Cup | Diamond Stone | 33 | September 27 (vs. Mono Vampire) | October 2 (vs. SK Knights) | 1–4 |

## Awards

| Recipient | Award | Date awarded | Ref. |
| Baser Amer | Governors' Cup Player of the Week | November 13, 2018 | |