CJ Cansino leads Meralco into Philippine Cup quarterfinals

The Meralco Bolts continued their strong run in the 2025 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup, cruising past the Converge FiberXers, 105–84, on Sunday, December 14, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo to secure a spot in the quarterfinals.

Rookie guard CJ Cansino further strengthened his case as Meralco’s breakout star, delivering back-to-back Best Player of the Game performances. He poured in a career-high 29 points, highlighted by three three-pointers, to power the Bolts to their third consecutive win and a 6–4 record, making them the seventh team to advance to the playoffs.

“Sobrang importante ng game na ito, at thankful ako na nakatulong sa team ko. Nasasakto sa akin ang bagsak ng bola. And we are reminded na maging aggressive, at hindi lang maging aggressive pero matalino rin. At yun, sumu-shoot ang bola eh,” Cansino said during the postgame press conference.

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Meralco head coach Luigi Trillo lauded the young shooting guard for stepping up during a crucial stretch of the tournament.

Better boys CJ Cansino and Juan Gomez de Liano may have last crossed paths in the UAAP hardwood battles in 2019, but their competitive spark lit up #PBA50 on Sunday#ReadMore 👉 https://t.co/pPHg7powSq

📸 PBA Images pic.twitter.com/LQVjYVOJ4i

— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) December 14, 2025

“CJ is stepping up. It’s actually his fifth Best Player honors in six games. And what’s good for him is he is playing defense too. He took on Juan Gomez de Liano in the fourth quarter in this game,” Trillo said.

Cansino, however, was far from alone in the victory. Veteran forward Cliff Hodge provided steady support with 18 points on an ultra-efficient 9-of-10 shooting clip. Aaron Black energized the Bolts off the bench with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Raymond Almazan and Chris Newsome chipped in 14 and 10 points, respectively.

“Aside from CJ, these are the guys who helped us out as well,” Trillo added.

The Bolts will have a brief respite to savor the statement win before turning their attention to a marquee matchup against the San Miguel Beermen on Friday, December 19, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

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