Meralco Bolts will battle against Blackwater Elite at 4:30 P.M. today in Smart Araneta Coliseum.

PBA Live Streaming: Meralco vs Blackwater

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The memories of the heart-breaking defeat against Barangay Ginebra during the 2016 Governor’s Cup still fresh for the Meralco Bolts as they start their 2016-17 PBA Philippine Cup campaign.

Their team core is still intact led by their second-year and 2016 Rookie of the Year player, Chris Newsome.

Mac Belo had a superb PBA debut last Wednesday versus Phoenix Fuel Masters where he scored a team-high of 17 points along with his 9 rebounds.

Can the rookie from FEU will be able to replicate the same performance against a much stronger team with lots of seasoned big-man?

Former Negros Slasher player Reynel Hugnatan also had a brilliant performance during last season’s league year-ender championship.

In order for him to stay effective in the court and against much younger opponents, Hugnatan re-invented himself and became one of the clutch 3-pointers in the 2016 Governor’s Cup particularly in the championship round.

We’ll expect more of these 3-point bombs from him especially that the all-time 3-point shooter has already left the Bolts and to the league for good.

Jimmy Alapag announced his retirement before the 2016-17 Philippine Cup started.