# 2023–24 Meralco Bolts season

The 2023–24 Meralco Bolts season is the 13th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

## Key dates

* September 17: The PBA season 48 draft was held at the Market! Market! in Taguig.

## Draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Place of birth | College |
| 1 | 8 | Brandon Bates | C | Australia | De La Salle |
| 3 | 32 | Jolo Mendoza | G | Philippines | Ateneo |
| 4 | 43 | Zach Huang | F | Philippines | UST |
| 5 | 54 | Jessie Sumoda | C | Philippines | San Sebastian |
| 6 | 62 | Shean Jackson | G | USA | Cheyenne HS |

## Preseason
### PBA on Tour
#### Game log

2023 PBA on Tour game log Total: 7–4 :
May: 1–1
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 24
NorthPort
W 97–89
Allein Maliksi (21)
Raymar Jose (12)
Alvin Pasaol (7)
Ynares Sports Arena
1–0
2
May 28
Phoenix Super LPG
L 93–100
Anjo Caram (24)
Jose, Torres (9)
Bong Quinto (11)
Ynares Sports Arena
1–1 :
June: 3–1
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
3
June 4
Converge
W 96–88
Allein Maliksi (16)
Raymond Almazan (14)
Bong Quinto (5)
Ynares Center
2–1
4
June 10
San Miguel
W 92–89
Allein Maliksi (21)
Raymond Almazan (14)
Anjo Caram (7)
Tiaong Convention Center
3–1
5
June 18
Terrafirma
L 102–107
Allein Maliksi (33)
Cliff Hodge (15)
Bong Quinto (10)
Ynares Sports Arena
3–2
6
June 28
TNT
W 108–90
Allein Maliksi (28)
Cliff Hodge (13)
Bong Quinto (7)
Ynares Sports Arena
4–2 :
July: 3–2
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
7
July 2
Magnolia
L 101–121
Diego Dario (22)
Bong Quinto (9)
Allein Maliksi (7)
Filoil EcoOil Centre
4–3
8
July 5
Barangay Ginebra
W 106–93
Allein Maliksi (23)
Raymond Almazan (12)
Cliff Hodge (6)
Quadricentennial Pavilion
5–3
9
July 12
NLEX
W 96–83
Alvin Pasaol (25)
Raymond Almazan (8)
Aaron Black (9)
Ynares Sports Arena
6–3
10
July 14
Blackwater
L 82–89
Almazan, Quinto (18)
Raymond Almazan (14)
Diego Dario (4)
Ynares Sports Arena
6–4
11
July 28
Rain or Shine
W 103–95
Raymar Jose (22)
Raymar Jose (18)
Aaron Black (10)
Ynares Sports Arena
7–4 :

### MassKara Festival exhibition
#### Game log

2023 PBA MassKara Festival exhibition game log Total: 0–1 :
October: 0–1
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
October 19
Rain or Shine
L 81–94
Diego Dario (20)
Raymar Jose (11)
Black, Dario, Pasaol (3)
La Salle Coliseum
0–1 :

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

| Pos | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots | 9 | 2 | .818 | — | Twice-to-beat in quarterfinals |
| 2 | San Miguel Beermen | 8 | 3 | .727 | 1 | Twice-to-beat in quarterfinals |
| 3 | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 8 | 3 | .727 | 1 | Twice-to-beat in quarterfinals |
| 4 | Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters | 8 | 3 | .727 | 1 | Twice-to-beat in quarterfinals |
| 5 | Meralco Bolts | 8 | 3 | .727 | 1 | Twice-to-win in quarterfinals |
| 6 | NorthPort Batang Pier | 6 | 5 | .545 | 3 | Twice-to-win in quarterfinals |
| 7 | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | 6 | 5 | .545 | 3 | Twice-to-win in quarterfinals |
| 8 | TNT Tropang Giga | 5 | 6 | .455 | 4 | Twice-to-win in quarterfinals |
| 9 | NLEX Road Warriors | 4 | 7 | .364 | 5 | |
| 10 | Terrafirma Dyip | 2 | 9 | .182 | 7 | |
| 11 | Blackwater Bossing | 1 | 10 | .091 | 8 | |
| 12 | Converge FiberXers | 1 | 10 | .091 | 8 | |
* 1 2 3 4 Head-to-head quotient: San Miguel 1.17, Barangay Ginebra 0.99, Phoenix Super LPG 0.98, Meralco 0.89
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: NorthPort 1–0 Rain or Shine
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Blackwater 1–0 Converge

#### Game log

2023–24 PBA Commissioner's Cup game log Total: 8–3 :
November: 3–1
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
November 8
Rain or Shine
W 107–102
Suleiman Braimoh (34)
Suleiman Braimoh (14)
Aaron Black (4)
PhilSports Arena
1–0
2
November 11
Blackwater
W 91–84
Suleiman Braimoh (40)
Suleiman Braimoh (16)
Chris Newsome (6)
Ynares Center
2–0
3
November 19
San Miguel
L 83–93
Chris Newsome (22)
Suleiman Braimoh (12)
Chris Newsome (6)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
2–1
4
November 26
TNT
W 109–95
Suleiman Braimoh (37)
Raymond Almazan (11)
Chris Newsome (5)
PhilSports Arena
3–1 :
December: 3–1
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
5
December 3
NLEX
W 97–94
Suleiman Braimoh (38)
Almazan, Braimoh (8)
Braimoh, Quinto (4)
PhilSports Arena
4–1
6
December 10
NorthPort
W 125–99
Zach Lofton (54)
Raymond Almazan (15)
Diego Dario (6)
PhilSports Arena
5–1
7
December 17
Converge
W 105–99
Zach Lofton (30)
Chris Newsome (10)
Cliff Hodge (7)
Ynares Center
6–1
8
December 22
Barangay Ginebra
L 96–110
Zach Lofton (23)
Cliff Hodge (8)
Zach Lofton (7)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
6–2 :
January: 2–1
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
9
January 6
Magnolia
W 85–80
Shonn Miller (33)
Shonn Miller (22)
Banchero, Newsome (4)
University of San Agustin Gym
7–2
10
January 10
Phoenix Super LPG
L 83–93
Shonn Miller (19)
Shonn Miller (9)
Chris Newsome (7)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
7–3
11
January 12
Terrafirma
W 109–102
Shonn Miller (29)
Shonn Miller (21)
Bong Quinto (9)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
8–3 :

### 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 | Magnolia | Magnolia | 109 | | | | | | |
| 8 | TNT | TNT | 94 | | | | | | |
| 8 | TNT | TNT | 94 | 1 | Magnolia | 3 | | | |
| (#4 twice-to-beat) | (#4 twice-to-beat) | (#4 twice-to-beat) | (#4 twice-to-beat) | 1 | Magnolia | 3 | | | |
| (#4 twice-to-beat) | (#4 twice-to-beat) | (#4 twice-to-beat) | (#4 twice-to-beat) | 4 | Phoenix Super LPG | 1 | | | |
| 4 | Phoenix Super LPG | 107 | 88 | 4 | Phoenix Super LPG | 1 | | | |
| 5 | Meralco | 116*** | 84 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Meralco | 116*** | 84 | | | | 1 | Magnolia | 2 |
| (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | | | | 1 | Magnolia | 2 |
| (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | | | | 2 | San Miguel | 4 |
| 2 | San Miguel | San Miguel | 127 | | | | 2 | San Miguel | 4 |
| 7 | Rain or Shine | Rain or Shine | 122 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Rain or Shine | Rain or Shine | 122 | 2 | San Miguel | 3 | | | |
| (#3 twice-to-beat) | (#3 twice-to-beat) | (#3 twice-to-beat) | (#3 twice-to-beat) | 2 | San Miguel | 3 | | | |
| (#3 twice-to-beat) | (#3 twice-to-beat) | (#3 twice-to-beat) | (#3 twice-to-beat) | 3 | Barangay Ginebra | 0 | | | |
| 3 | Barangay Ginebra | Barangay Ginebra | 106 | 3 | Barangay Ginebra | 0 | | | |
| 6 | NorthPort | NorthPort | 93 | | | | | | |
*Game went into overtime
* view
* talk

#### Game log

2023–24 PBA Commissioner's Cup playoffs game log Total: 1–1 :
Quarterfinals: 1–1
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
January 17
Phoenix Super LPG
W 116–107 (3OT)
Cliff Hodge (20)
Shonn Miller (20)
Newsome, Quinto (4)
PhilSports Arena
1–0
2
January 21
Phoenix Super LPG
L 84–88
Hodge, Maliksi, Newsome (15)
Shonn Miller (12)
Miller, Newsome (6)
SM Mall of Asia Arena
1–1 :

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

| Pos | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | San Miguel Beermen | 10 | 1 | .909 | — | Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals |
| 2 | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 7 | 4 | .636 | 3 | Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals |
| 3 | Meralco Bolts | 6 | 5 | .545 | 4 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 4 | TNT Tropang Giga | 6 | 5 | .545 | 4 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 5 | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | 6 | 5 | .545 | 4 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 6 | NLEX Road Warriors | 6 | 5 | .545 | 4 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 7 | Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots | 6 | 5 | .545 | 4 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 8 | Terrafirma Dyip | 5 | 6 | .455 | 5 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 9 | NorthPort Batang Pier | 5 | 6 | .455 | 5 | |
| 10 | Blackwater Bossing | 4 | 7 | .364 | 6 | |
| 11 | Phoenix Fuel Masters | 3 | 8 | .273 | 7 | |
| 12 | Converge FiberXers | 2 | 9 | .182 | 8 | |
* 1 2 3 4 5 Head-to-head quotient: Meralco 1.06, TNT 1.03, Rain or Shine 1.01, NLEX 0.99, Magnolia 0.90
* 1 2 Eighth seed playoff: Terrafirma 104–96 NorthPort

#### Game log

2024 PBA Philippine Cup game log Total: 6–5 :
February: 0–1
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
February 28
Blackwater
L 93–96
Allein Maliksi (27)
Chris Newsome (7)
Banchero, Newsome (6)
Ynares Center
0–1 :
March: 2–2
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
2
March 2
Rain or Shine
W 121–117 (OT)
Allein Maliksi (26)
Chris Newsome (11)
Bong Quinto (6)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
1–1
3
March 6
NLEX
L 96–99
Chris Newsome (22)
Chris Newsome (8)
Chris Newsome (4)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
1–2
4
March 10
NorthPort
L 85–90
Aaron Black (18)
Cliff Hodge (11)
Chris Banchero (5)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
1–3
5
March 15
Barangay Ginebra
W 91–73
Allein Maliksi (25)
Almazan, Black, Hodge (7)
Chris Newsome (4)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
2–3
All-Star Break :
April: 3–2
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
6
April 3
Terrafirma
W 86–83
Bong Quinto (18)
Chris Newsome (8)
Chris Newsome (8)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
3–3
7
April 7
TNT
L 90–92
Black, Hodge (16)
Aaron Black (8)
Chris Newsome (5)
Ninoy Aquino Stadium
3–4
8
April 21
Converge
L 99–104
Chris Newsome (25)
Cliff Hodge (9)
Aaron Black (6)
PhilSports Arena
3–5
9
April 26
Phoenix
W 82–76
Aaron Black (18)
Bates, Hodge (12)
Black, Quinto (4)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
4–5
10
April 28
Magnolia
W 74–51
Almazan, Newsome (12)
Raymond Almazan (11)
Chris Newsome (7)
PhilSports Arena
5–5 :
May: 1–0
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
11
May 4
San Miguel
W 95–92
Cliff Hodge (20)
Cliff Hodge (13)
Chris Newsome (6)
Batangas City Sports Center
6–5 :

### Playoffs
#### Bracket

| Quarterfinals | 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 twice-to-beat) | | | | | | |
| 1 | San Miguel | 95 | 110 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Terrafirma | 106 | 91 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Terrafirma | 106 | 91 | 1 | San Miguel | 4 | | | |
| (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | 1 | San Miguel | 4 | | | |
| (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | 5 | Rain or Shine | 0 | | | |
| 4 | TNT | TNT | 1 | 5 | Rain or Shine | 0 | | | |
| 5 | Rain or Shine | Rain or Shine | 2 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Rain or Shine | Rain or Shine | 2 | | | | 1 | San Miguel | 2 |
| (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | | | | 1 | San Miguel | 2 |
| (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | | | | 3 | Meralco | 4 |
| 2 | Barangay Ginebra | Barangay Ginebra | 99 | | | | 3 | Meralco | 4 |
| 7 | Magnolia | Magnolia | 77 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Magnolia | Magnolia | 77 | 2 | Barangay Ginebra | 3 | | | |
| (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | 2 | Barangay Ginebra | 3 | | | |
| (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | 3 | Meralco | 4 | | | |
| 3 | Meralco | Meralco | 2 | 3 | Meralco | 4 | | | |
| 6 | NLEX | NLEX | 0 | | | | | | |
* view
* talk

#### Game log

2024 PBA Philippine Cup playoffs game log Total: 10–5 :
Quarterfinals: 2–0
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
May 8
NLEX
W 97–93
Allein Maliksi (22)
Hodge, Newsome (7)
Chris Newsome (6)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
1–0
2
May 10
NLEX
W 100–81
Chris Banchero (23)
Chris Newsome (9)
Chris Banchero (6)
Rizal Memorial Coliseum
2–0 :
Semifinals: 4–3
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
May 17
Barangay Ginebra
L 88–92
Chris Newsome (21)
Chris Newsome (13)
Chris Banchero (8)
Mall of Asia Arena
0–1
2
May 19
Barangay Ginebra
W 103–91
Allein Maliksi (25)
Cliff Hodge (10)
Caram, Hodge, Newsome (3)
Mall of Asia Arena
1–1
3
May 22
Barangay Ginebra
W 87–80
Allein Maliksi (16)
Almazan, Bates (9)
Chris Newsome (6)
Dasmariñas Arena
2–1
4
May 24
Barangay Ginebra
L 71–90
Banchero, Maliksi (14)
Allein Maliksi (6)
Chris Banchero (3)
Mall of Asia Arena
2–2
5
May 26
Barangay Ginebra
L 84–89
Chris Banchero (18)
Cliff Hodge (8)
Chris Banchero (6)
Mall of Asia Arena
2–3
6
May 29
Barangay Ginebra
W 86–81
Bong Quinto (23)
Raymond Almazan (11)
Chris Banchero (8)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
3–3
7
May 31
Barangay Ginebra
W 78–69
Chris Banchero (24)
Brandon Bates (13)
Chris Newsome (6)
FPJ Arena
4–3 :
Finals: 4–2
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
June 5
San Miguel
W 93–86
Banchero, Newsome (18)
Cliff Hodge (15)
Banchero, Newsome (5)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
1–0
2
June 7
San Miguel
L 94–95
Cliff Hodge (25)
Bates, Hodge (9)
Chris Newsome (5)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
1–1
3
June 9
San Miguel
W 93–89
Chris Newsome (26)
Almazan, Hodge (13)
Chris Banchero (6)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
2–1
4
June 12
San Miguel
L 101–111
Chris Newsome (40)
Cliff Hodge (10)
Chris Newsome (4)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
2–2
5
June 14
San Miguel
W 92–88
Maliksi, Newsome (22)
Cliff Hodge (9)
Chris Newsome (5)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
3–2
6
June 16
San Miguel
W 80–78
Chris Newsome (15)
Raymond Almazan (10)
Chris Banchero (8)
Smart Araneta Coliseum
4–2 :

## East Asia Super League
### Group stage
#### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification |
| 1 | Seoul SK Knights | 6 | 4 | 2 | 475 | 438 | +37 | Semifinals |
| 2 | New Taipei Kings | 6 | 4 | 2 | 467 | 483 | −16 | Semifinals |
| 3 | Ryukyu Golden Kings | 6 | 3 | 3 | 479 | 453 | +26 | |
| 4 | Meralco Bolts | 6 | 1 | 5 | 469 | 516 | −47 | |
* 1 2 Seoul SK Knights 161–147 New Taipei Kings

#### Game log
## Transactions
### Subtractions

| Player | Number | Position | Reason | New team |
| Nonoy Baclao | 50, 97 | Center / Power forward | End of contract | San Miguel Beermen |

### Trades
#### Pre-season

May :
| May 18, 2023 | To MeralcoNorbert Torres | To Rain or ShineMac Belo |

### Recruited imports

| Tournament | Name | Debuted | Last game | Record |
| Commissioner's Cup | Suleiman Braimoh | November 8, 2023 (vs. Rain or Shine) | December 3, 2023 (vs. NLEX) | 4–1 |
| Commissioner's Cup | Zach Lofton | December 10, 2023 (vs. NorthPort) | December 22, 2023 (vs. Barangay Ginebra) | 2–1 |
| Commissioner's Cup | Shonn Miller | January 6, 2024 (vs. Magnolia) | January 21, 2024 (vs. Phoenix Super LPG) | 3–2 |

## Awards

| Recipient | Award | Date awarded |
| Chris Newsome | 2024 PBA Philippine Cup Finals Most Valuable Player | June 16, 2024 |
| Honors |||
| Chris Newsome | 2023–24 PBA Mythical First Team | August 18, 2024 |
| Chris Newsome | 2023–24 PBA All-Defensive Team | August 18, 2024 |
| Cliff Hodge | 2023–24 PBA Mythical Second Team | August 18, 2024 |
| Cliff Hodge | 2023–24 PBA All-Defensive Team | August 18, 2024 |