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    Black sees Gilas win over Korea happening again - and again

    'I think we can beat them again. And maybe next time, they'll make sure to bring the strongest possible team that they can bring because now, they understand what's going on. But I think you're gonna continue to see this in the future as these guys start to grow as players, as they become more competitive'
    Jun 25, 2021

    KOREAN coach Cho Sang Hyun may charge Gilas Pilipinas win in the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup to luck, but coach Norman Black thinks otherwise.

    "The [Gilas] team puts in a lot of work to get what you just saw," the former national coach and grand slam winner said in a Spin Zoom In appearance. "That didn't just happen. There's a lot of work that's put into that."

    Black witnessed first hand how hard the team worked, being one of the coaches in the first bubble back in February, and he is the first to attest to the dedication coach Tab Baldwin has put in making this crew a well-oiled machine.

    And even then, the Meralco coach knew that this Gilas team can beat Korea.

    "Ang feeling ng coaching staff, we could beat Korea," he shared, looking back at that group which had PBA players namely Kiefer Ravena, CJ Perez, Roger Pogoy, Troy Rosario, Justin Chua, and Raul Soyud.

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      "We had Kiefer, CJ, some other PBA players, but we really felt we could beat Korea. Kasi it's not just the talent lang. For me, it's also the system being implemented."

      Black shared the long days Gilas subjected itself in at Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, where the Nationals would wake up early to practice at 8 a.m., before taking a short break and going back to the grind again at 6 p.m.

      The coaches, for their part, never stop working as they discuss game plans and strategy in between the trainings and sometimes would review videos - both of their own practices and of other games - up to around 12 midnight.

      'We were putting in the work'

      "You can say whatever you want about coach Tab, but you can never say he doesn't work hard. We were putting in the work," said Black, who was excused from the last Gilas bubble to attend to Meralco's buildup for the PBA season.

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      Black, therefore, was the least surprised to see this young Gilas group sweep all of its three assignments inside the Clark bubble, counting back-to-back wins over Korea -something that was unheard of in the last half-century.

      "I always believe that hard work breeds success. You give [Baldwin] the program and the talent, something good's gonna happen. If you have guys willing to commit to that work ethic, something good's gonna happen. That's why I wasn't surprised that we beat Korea," he said, lauding the efforts of the group led by Dwight Ramos, Kai Sotto, and naturalized center Ange Kouame.

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        Black even went as far as say that this may just be the norm the next time the Philippines meets Korea again, which may very well mean the end of the dreaded 'Korean curse' for Gilas.

        "I think we can beat them again. And maybe next time, they'll make sure to bring the strongest possible team that they can bring because now, they understand what's going on. But I think you're gonna continue to see this in the future as these guys start to grow as players, as they become more competitive," he said.

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        "When you play against better teams, you become better. You play against better players, gagaling din ang laro mo."

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