Philippine Asian News Today Vol 19 No 20 | Page 29

October 16 - 31, 2017 PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY 29 Meralco’s Reddy Kilowatt Someone said that en- couragement is simply re- minding a person of the “shoulders” he’s standing on, the legacy he’d been given. Last season when the Meralco Bolts first made it to the finals of the Governor’s Cup of the PBA’s 41stseason against crowd favourite, the Ginebra Kings, and were told of the rich tradition their pre- decessors, the Reddy  Kilo- watts, had  established as early as when basketball was first played in the country, coach Norman Black cannot hide his amazement on the historical value attached to their campaign. “It’s an additional motiva- tion for us all. I’ll tell the boys about that so they’ll further be inspired our efforts to win the title,” Black told this writer then. That, as everybody knows, is now history as Meralco lost to Ginebra in Game 6 of their best-of-seven championship series on a last second three- point shot by import Justin Brownlee.   Not bad going home with the runner up tro- phy. “Yeah, not bad at all. At least we’re the second best,” Black said the next time we met after the smoke of battle had been extinguished. The Bolts didn’t win their rings but a second place finish could be the start of something big for the Manny V. Pangilinan franchise.      This year, in that same conference, the Bolts are in the title playoff anew against the same Gin Kings in their bid to add to the Kilowatts’ crown jewels won I932 during the infant year of the sport, which is now the Filipinos’ fa- vorite pastime,  and in 1969, 1970 and 1971 in the era of the Manila Industrial Com- mercial Athletic Association (MICAA). Meralco might not have seen action yet when basket- balls was first played here, in- cidentally by women in 1911 during the Manila Carnival Athletic meet , forerunner of the now defunct Interscholas- tics. The sport was then called “sissy’s game.” But it is believed though that the Meralco Athletic Club w