MANILA, Philippines – Meralco has been on a roll in the Governors’ Cup, winning all of its first three games.

The scary thing is the Bolts have yet to play with newly acquired point guard Chris Banchero.

Banchero is slated to debut for Meralco against Barangay Ginebra on Sunday, February 13, after parting ways with Phoenix to become an unrestricted free agent.

“It’s huge. Chris is one of the best point guards in the league and also one of my best friends. So it’s very [huge] chemistry-wise to get him over here,” said Bolts forward Cliff Hodge after their 110-100 win over NLEX on Friday.

“We can’t wait for him to suit up.”

Meralco head coach Norman Black opted not to play Banchero against the Road Warriors as he only joined the Bolts in practice the day prior.

Still, Meralco manhandled NLEX, leading by as many as 20 points en route to another convincing win.

Once Banchero gets himself acclimated to the Bolts’ system, Black expects the veteran playmaker to provide a massive impact.

“I think he’ll bring a lot to the team. He can score the basketball, he defends well, he can pass the basketball also, he puts a lot of pressure defensively,” Black said.

“He just brings us another weapon we can use during games.”

Banchero played five games for the Fuel Masters in the Governors’ Cup, averaging 18 points, 4.4 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.4 steals.

Phoenix offered to extend his contract, but Banchero decided to test the free agency waters and joined Meralco, which successfully filled the void left by John Pinto when he signed with Barangay Ginebra. – Rappler.com