MANILA, Philippines – Jason Ballesteros may not be a part of Gilas Pilipinas anymore but his experiences there came in handy with the Meralco Bolts being in survival mode.

The 6-foot-6 big man turned into an unlikely hero as Meralco eked out an 84-82 win over Barangay Ginebra at the Philippine Arena Sunday, February 18.

The Bolts remained alive in their playoff hunt, improving their record to 4-6, and climbed two notches in the standings to 9th place, joining the TNT KaTropa and the Blackwater Elite.

Ballesteros registered 17 rebounds and 7 points in a night that saw him score a go-ahead putback and an insurance free throw within the last 40 seconds. He also provided a game-sealing defensive play on Japeth Aguilar, who missed his last-second 3-point attempt.

Few may remember the 32-year-old as a pioneer of Gilas but Ballesteros sure can recall a lot of experiences with the national squad, primarily with matchups against former Gilas teammates and now Ginebra stars Aguilar and Greg Slaughter.

“Kahit paano, alam ko na ‘yung mga laro nila dahil sa Gilas magkasama kami,” said Ballesteros.

(At least, I know how they play because played together in Gilas.)

But Ballesteros downplayed his resurgence, saying it was just his job to help Meralco avoid early elimination.

“Buenas lang,” said Ballesteros. “Sabi ni coach, kung gusto naming pumasok ng quarters, maglaro kami ng maayos. Tsaka lalo ngayon na ‘yung mga big man, kailangang magstep up kasi malalaki nga ang Ginebra. So ‘yun ang ginawa ko, nagstep up lang.”

(I was just lucky. Coach said that in order for us to advance to the quarters, we should play accordingly. Especially against Ginebra, our big men needed to step up. That is what I did, I stepped up.)

The Bolts will try to fortify their bid for a playoff berth when they face the Magnolia Hotshots on February 24. – Rappler.com