A RON Jacobs line found its way into the dugout of Meralco during the halftime break in Game Three of the PBA 46th Season Governors’ Cup Finals.
The Bolts found themselves trailing Barangay Ginebra by eight points, 48-40, at the half on Sunday - a manageable gap considering the Gin Kings made 50 percent of their shots including a 17-of-23 clip from two-point range.
In contrast, Meralco only shot 33 percent and 8-of-27 from two-point distance.
Black echoes Jacobs line
“We just talked about the fact that they shot 70-plus percent in the first half and had 30 points in the paint but we were only down by eight points,” said Meralco coach Norman Black, looking back on halftime of Game Three.
Black then recalled the words once told by Jacobs, the late coach and former San Miguel coach who is best known for spearheading the Northern Consolidated national team program back in the 1980s.
For a while, Jacobs also served as a consultant of Black during the latter's time as San Miguel coach.
“I was telling him a story about how I remember Ron Jacobs telling me that if you shoot a very high percentage in the first half and you are only up by a few points, that’s not very good because the other team certainly has a chance to come back,” said Black, without going into detail on when Jacobs made that message.
“It’s a way to try to motivate my players and understand that we are still in the game and we still have a chance to come back,” said Black.
Meralco did come back in the contest, keeping the game close in the third where it trailed by only a point at the end of the quarter, 62-61, before the Bolts took control in the fourth thanks to Tony Bishop and Chris Newsome.
The Bolts ended up taking an 83-74 win over Ginebra for a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven finals. And Black knows the job ain't finished.
“We just have to play a little bit better defensively and better offense which we did in the second half,” said Black.