Meralco Bolts  –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

Meralco will now shift focus back to the upcoming PBA Philippine Cup playoffs after its campaign in the Basketball Champions League Asia was derailed by Mongolian side Ulaanbaatar Xac Broncos in the quarterfinals on Wednesday in Dubai.

The Bolts’ 83-78 defeat at Coca-Cola Arena came after squandering a 13-point lead and falling short of completing a comeback in the final minute as their latest international campaign came to a disappointing end.

“I think we played okay, but we cannot be happy of losing in the quarterfinals,” lamented active consultant Nenad Vucinic, who served as Meralco’s coach for the week-long competition.

The Bolts went 1-2, losing to Shabab Al-Ahli of United Arab Emirates and winning over Japan’s B.League champion Utsunomiya Brex in Group B with a squad that included three imports in Jordon Varnado, Glynn Watson and John Egbunu.

Chris Banchero and Cliff Hodge had their share of solid showings for Meralco, but Chris Newsome dealt with foul trouble for two of the three games in the tournament which handed the PBA an automatic slot into the main phase.

“It was a great experience for us, because not many Filipino teams play international competitions,” said Vucinic as the Bolts have also played the past two seasons of the East Asia Super League, falling one win short of a Final Four berth last February.

Now, the Bolts head back home still having to wait their opponent for next week’s Philippine Cup quarterfinals. They finished outside of the top four with a 6-5 record.