The Meralco Bolts and the Macau Black Bears are not just battling for basketball supremacy on Saturday in their East Asia Super League (EASL) matchup.
After an earthquake shook the province back in September, heavy rainfall and flooding also affected several areas in Cebu following the onslaught of Typhoon Tino earlier this month.
With this, the basketball teams are in the province to battle it out not just for much-needed wins in the EASL, but also for Cebuanos.
All ticket proceeds for the game set at the Cebu Coliseum here on Saturday evening will go directly to help victims of the disasters in Cebu, the league said.
‘Everything we’re going to raise during this game, all of the proceeds of this game will be donated to the earthquake and typhoon victims over the last, last couple of weeks, months,’ EASL senior vice president and head of operations Dominic Tang told reporters at a press conference at the Citadines Hotel here.
Meralco team manager Paolo Trillo, for his part, said that more than playing in front of ‘some of the best fans in the world’ in Cebuanos, what makes the clash more exciting is the cause.
He bared that the team, led by import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and captain Chris Newsome, got together and raised a fund on their own for donations.
‘The other day in practice, some of the players got together – Rondae, our captain Chris Newsome, the rest of the players. And it was very touching because they wanted to raise a fund on their own to also help and contribute to the donations,’ Trillo said.
‘So I think they raised quite a good amount. Management at the same time also wanted to contribute. So what we’re going to do is with the amount that they raised, management will top it up and they’re going to vouch and commit P500,000 to the city of Cebu,’ he added.
‘So yeah, again, we just want to say that we’re very excited and happy to be here to really basketball up. You know, what we’re doing here for the cause is really bigger than basketball. But of course, we do this in partnership with the city of Cebu and the EASL.’
Meralco is currently holding a 1-2 win-loss record in Group B play. The Black Bears, on the other hand, will be playing their first game of the season.
Only the top two teams will advance to the next round of the tournament.
But while both teams will be playing for something much bigger than basketball, Trillo underscored that every game in the tournament is now ‘do-or-die’.
‘Every game is important, so we try to take it one game at a time. But obviously, for us to qualify to the next round, we need to win. Only the top two in each of the groups will advance, so it’s almost like do or die for us, I guess you could say, in terms of us wanting to put ourselves in the best chance to make it to the next round,’ he said.
The Bolts manager also stressed that this Macau squad is different from the one they faced in the past.
‘We know they’re a good team, very good team, good program. It’s going to be a very competitive game. For them, qualifying and being in the EASL proves that they are one of the top teams, if not the top team in Macau. So, it’s going to be a very competitive and challenging game for us,’ said Trillo.
The Bolts will be playing without CJ Cansino, who is nursing a sprained ankle, and Justin Brownlee, who already arrived in the country but is expected to suit up for Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
‘So far, we’re looking okay and healthy getting into the game. We’re prepared for it. Hopefully, we’ll try to do our best to give the crowd here something to cheer about,’ Trillo added.