Player of the Week Dillinger shrugs off hot Meralco start

PBA (file photo)

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--Meralco may be surprisingly at the top of the PBA Commissioner's Cup standings now, but for wingman Jared Dillinger, it is not yet the barometer if his team has what it takes to finally capture its first league title.

“That’s great, we’re 4-and-0, but then, we’ll throw that off come playoff time. Definitely it’s a process, so we just need to keep building on these type of games,” said Dillinger.

Dillinger's consistent contributions to extend the Bolts' hot streak earned him the PBA Press Corps Player of the Week award as the league announced on Monday.

Dillinger, who made 13 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game this past week, denied GlobalPort's Terrence Romeo of a second straight Player of the Week plum while also beating Ginebra's Greg Slaughter and Blackwater's scoring tandem of Carlo Lastimosa and Reil Cervantes.

Asked on how the Bolts had their streak going following a dismal Philippine Cup campaign, Dillinger answered, “We were one of the first teams to take the exit in the previous conference so we had time to build on our chemistry and get better. We 'lived' in the gym.”

Meralco guns for a franchise-record-tying fifth straight win to start a conference on Sunday against GlobalPort.

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