# 2022–23 Meralco Bolts season

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

## Key dates

* May 15: The PBA Season 47 draft was held at the Robinsons Place Manila in Manila.
* 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.
* July 31: The Bolts won against the Gin Kings for the first time in a playoff series.
* 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.

## Draft picks

| 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 |

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

| Pos | Teamvte | 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 | 1 | Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals |
| 3 | Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots | 8 | 3 | .727 | 1 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 4 | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 8 | 3 | .727 | 1 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 5 | Meralco Bolts | 7 | 4 | .636 | 2 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 6 | NLEX Road Warriors | 6 | 5 | .545 | 3 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 7 | Converge FiberXers | 5 | 6 | .455 | 4 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 8 | Blackwater Bossing | 5 | 6 | .455 | 4 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 9 | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | 4 | 7 | .364 | 5 | |
| 10 | NorthPort Batang Pier | 3 | 8 | .273 | 6 | |
| 11 | Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters | 3 | 8 | .273 | 6 | |
| 12 | Terrafirma Dyip | 0 | 11 | .000 | 9 | |
* 1 2 3 Head-to-head quotient:TNT 1.12, Magnolia 0.99, Barangay Ginebra 0.90
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Converge 1–0 Blackwater
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: NorthPort 1–0 Phoenix

#### Game log

2022 PBA Philippine Cup game log Total: 7–4 :
June: 3–3
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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 | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals (best-of-7) | Semifinals (best-of-7) | Semifinals (best-of-7) | 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 | San Miguel | 123 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Blackwater | 93 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Blackwater | 93 | 1 | San Miguel | 4 | | | |
| (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | 1 | San Miguel | 4 | | | |
| (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | 5 | Meralco | 3 | | | |
| 4 | Barangay Ginebra | 1 | 5 | Meralco | 3 | | | |
| 5 | Meralco | 2 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Meralco | 2 | | | | 1 | San Miguel | 4 |
| (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | | | | 1 | San Miguel | 4 |
| (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | | | | 2 | TNT | 3 |
| 2 | TNT | 116 | | | | 2 | TNT | 3 |
| 7 | Converge | 95 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Converge | 95 | 2 | TNT | 4 | | | |
| (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | 2 | TNT | 4 | | | |
| (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | 3 | Magnolia | 2 | | | |
| 3 | Magnolia | 2 | 3 | Magnolia | 2 | | | |
| 6 | NLEX | 1 | | | | | | |
* view
* talk

#### Game log

2022 PBA Philippine Cup playoffs game log Total: 5–5 :
Quarterfinals: 2–1
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
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
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
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 | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | Bay Area Dragons (G) | 10 | 2 | .833 | — | Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals |
| 2 | Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots | 10 | 2 | .833 | — | Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals |
| 3 | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 9 | 3 | .750 | 1 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 4 | Converge FiberXers | 8 | 4 | .667 | 2 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 5 | San Miguel Beermen | 7 | 5 | .583 | 3 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 6 | NorthPort Batang Pier | 6 | 6 | .500 | 4 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 7 | Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters | 6 | 6 | .500 | 4 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 8 | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | 5 | 7 | .417 | 5 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 9 | NLEX Road Warriors | 5 | 7 | .417 | 5 | |
| 10 | Meralco Bolts | 4 | 8 | .333 | 6 | |
| 11 | TNT Tropang Giga | 4 | 8 | .333 | 6 | |
| 12 | Blackwater Bossing | 3 | 9 | .250 | 7 | |
| 13 | Terrafirma Dyip | 1 | 11 | .083 | 9 | |
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Bay Area 1–0 Magnolia
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: NorthPort 1–0 Phoenix
* 1 2 Eighth seed playoff: Rain or Shine 110–100 NLEX
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Meralco 1–0 TNT

#### Game log

2022–23 PBA Commissioner's Cup game log Total: 4–8 :
September: 0–1
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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 | Teamvte | 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 | Twice-to-beat in quarterfinals |
| 3 | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 8 | 3 | .727 | 2 | Twice-to-beat in quarterfinals |
| 4 | Meralco Bolts | 7 | 4 | .636 | 3 | Twice-to-beat in quarterfinals |
| 5 | Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots | 7 | 4 | .636 | 3 | Twice-to-win in quarterfinals |
| 6 | NLEX Road Warriors | 7 | 4 | .636 | 3 | Twice-to-win in quarterfinals |
| 7 | Converge FiberXers | 6 | 5 | .545 | 4 | Twice-to-win in quarterfinals |
| 8 | Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters | 4 | 7 | .364 | 6 | Twice-to-win in quarterfinals |
| 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 | |
* 1 2 3 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
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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 | 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 | TNT | 132 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Phoenix Super LPG | 105 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Phoenix Super LPG | 105 | 1 | TNT | 3 | | | |
| (#4 twice-to-beat) | (#4 twice-to-beat) | (#4 twice-to-beat) | 1 | TNT | 3 | | | |
| (#4 twice-to-beat) | (#4 twice-to-beat) | (#4 twice-to-beat) | 4 | Meralco | 1 | | | |
| 4 | Meralco | 113* | 4 | Meralco | 1 | | | |
| 5 | Magnolia | 107 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Magnolia | 107 | | | | 1 | TNT | 4 |
| (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | | | | 1 | TNT | 4 |
| (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | | | | 3 | Barangay Ginebra | 2 |
| 2 | San Miguel | 121 | | | | 3 | Barangay Ginebra | 2 |
| 7 | Converge | 105 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Converge | 105 | 2 | San Miguel | 0 | | | |
| (#3 twice-to-beat) | (#3 twice-to-beat) | (#3 twice-to-beat) | 2 | San Miguel | 0 | | | |
| (#3 twice-to-beat) | (#3 twice-to-beat) | (#3 twice-to-beat) | 3 | Barangay Ginebra | 3 | | | |
| 3 | Barangay Ginebra | 127 | 3 | Barangay Ginebra | 3 | | | |
| 6 | NLEX | 93 | | | | | | |
*Game went into overtime
* view
* talk

#### Game log

2023 PBA Governors' Cup playoffs game log Total: 2–3 :
Quarterfinals: 1–0
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
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
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
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 | Not disclosed | 2 years | Re-signed |
| Kyle Pascual | May 26, 2022 | Not disclosed | 2 years | Terrafirma Dyip |
| Jansen Rios | January 19, 2023 | Not disclosed | 1 year | Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters |
| Diego Dario | January 24, 2023 | Not disclosed | 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 |
| Commissioner's Cup | K. J. McDaniels | November 4, 2022 (vs. Bay Area) | December 2, 2022 (vs. San Miguel) | 3–3 |
| Governors' Cup | K. J. McDaniels | 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 |
| Chris Newsome | 2022–23 PBA All-Defensive Team | November 5, 2023 |