MANILA, Philippines—Meralco coach Luigi Trillo bared that the Bolts import Akil Mitchell wasn’t at a hundred percent in their Game 3 loss to Ginebra that led to their exit in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

Following the Bolts’ 94-87 loss to Ginebra at Ynares Sports Central on Sunday night, Trillo explained why Mitchell didn’t play like his usual self in Meralco’s most important game of the conference.

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“His groin was hurting in the first quarter but he didn’t excuse himself. We knew he wasn’t the same, he wasn’t aggressive and only had one or two attempts. Sometimes those things happen in the game,” said Trillo.

“He had that back and he pulled that groin in the first quarter so you can see he wasn’t the same guy.”

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Mitchell’s apparent injury was obvious from the get-go with limited shot attempts and less drives to the basket.

READ: PBA: Justin Brownlee likens Akil Mitchell to former Meralco rival

By the end of the game, the Bolts’ trusty import ended up with just eight points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Mitchell’s outing in Game 3 was far different from his first two outings in the quarterfinals where he averaged 16 points and 15.5 rebounds.

Trillo still lauded Mitchell for playing the entire game even with a hurt groin paired up with flaring back injury that he sustained at the tail-end of the elimination round.

“You don’t want to make excuses but sometimes, those things happen. He was brave enough to play the game even with the way it was going.”