Rampaging Meralco is set to welcome key players KG Canaleta and Ranidel de Ocampo to boost its playoff push in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup.

Head coach Norman Black assured their return following a 12-day layoff before facing San Miguel Beer as they enter the crucial stretch of this season-ending conference.

“The only good thing about this 12-day rest is I’m sure that Ranidel and KG will already comeback for our last game against San Miguel,” he said.

The versatile forward De Ocampo was out for seven games while Canaleta missed three games for the back-to-back Governors’ Cup runner-up Meralco.

Without them, the Bolts zapped slumping Rain or Shine, 91-82, last Sunday for their third win in a row.

That pushed Meralco back in the thick of the playoff race after starting the conference with a 1-6 slate highlighted by a franchise-worst six-game losing streak.

Meralco is now at solo ninth place with 4-6 record, keeping a striking distance from NLEX (4-5) and Talk ‘N Text (4-5), which are currently tied for eighth spot.

While Black worries that the two-week layoff could halt their momentum, the break would give his injured wards enough time to recover before they attempt to finish the elimination round with a bang against fellow playoff hopeful San Miguel on 3 November.

“Obviously for us, we’d rather continue playing right now because we have some rhythm and everybody is playing well,” he added.