BLACKWATER coach Leo Isaac sees some sort of a 'second coming' for veterans recruits Eddie Laure, Sunday Salvacion and Paul Artadi as they lead the Elite in their maiden PBA season next month.
Laure, Salvacion and Artadi have all seen minimal action with their various teams last season, but are poised to get major playing minutes for a team that is out to make a respectable finish in its first year in the pro league.
“Maganda game ni Sunday, at maganda din game ni Eddie Laure. That would set the tone for the other players who are here, while the challenge has been made for these players who were selected from the dispersal draft because it’s their second coming,” Isaac told Spin.ph, shortly after Blackwater subdued San Miguel Beer, 68-63 a game that was halted midway through the fourth period due a roof leak at the Acropolis gym.
“It’s either they (veterans) reinvent themselves or they will show everybody that it’s not yet the end of their careers,” he added.
Salvacion led the Elite with 15 points, all coming from beyond the arc, while Laure added 10 points and helped Blackwater erect a 16-point lead midway through the third canto. Artadi didn’t score much, but provided the leadership from the backcourt.
The 6-foot-2 Salvacion is turning 36 this December, but the veteran gunner from Surigao del Sur has showed no signs of slowing down.
Even the 37-year-old Laure, who only played a total of 12 games in his last two seasons with Alaska before being dropped to the unprotected list last July, has showed flashes of brilliance with his sharp perimeter shooting.
Isaac said they intend to push the tempo this coming season as they try to maximize their youthful backcourt men that include rookies Juami Tiongson, Brian Heruela and Bacon Austria.
“We would want to have an upbeat tempo, especially when we have possession,” he said.
“We would want to have this kind of opportunity where we could attack their (opponents’) defense while they are not yet set, kasi baka pag nagka-organized five na, di na kami maka execute properly. So at every given moment, if we have that opportunity, we will make that transition plays since their defense is not yet set,” added Isaac.
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