NORMAN Black refused to believe the 46th PBA season has been reduced to a four-team battle for the championship.
While he did acknowledge Barangay Ginebra, San Miguel Beer, TnT Tropang Giga, and Magnolia are consensus title contenders, Black still likes the chances of his Meralco Bolts to challenge the league’s so-called elite teams.
Like the four powerhouse ballclubs, the Bolts, according to Black, also did some off-season moves in a bid to duplicate, if not surpass, their semifinals finish in last season’s Philippine Cup during the Clark bubble.
Meralco added promising rookie big man Alvin Pasaol from the draft and traded for Mac Belo in a bid to further shore its frontcourt.
“I think any of those teams can be beaten and that’s what we’ll be trying to do this conference,” Black stressed to former PBA Commissioner Noli Eala during his guesting in the Power&Play program on Saturday.
Black’s reply was in reaction to NLEX counterpart Yeng Guiao’s belief the season has become a mere battle for fifth place given the way the three powerhouse teams of the San Miguel Corporation (SMC) and the Manny Pangilinan Group’s flagship franchise TnT Tropang Giga had become even more lethal in terms of their respective rosters given the major deals all four ballclubs effected in the off-season.
The Meralco coach said he certainly doesn’t agree with Guiao’s stand.
“I won’t question what coach Yeng said because that’s his feeling. (But) I don’t agree with it,” said Black.
“I’m not naïve. I know that San Miguel, Ginebra, Magnolia, and TnT they are the favorites because they have the most talent. But other teams have also improved their talent level.”
Like Meralco, Black also sees Guiao and the Road Warriors to be competing in the upper half of the standings, noting how NLEX has been a much-improved team with a solid lineup.
To be able to go toe-to-toe with the Big Four, Black said one just needs to catch a break.
By that he meant a team being injury-free and having to peak at the right place and at the right time.
“You might have to catch breaks. For instance, you can’t have injuries to key players. You can’t have that particularly in the most important moments of the tournament. That can’t happen.
Two, guys have to peak at the right time. They got to play as well as we get close to the end of the elimination round and we get into the playoffs. If they can do that, you never know what might happen,” Black explained.
But the most important of all is for the Bolts have to win games as Black noted how the team came close to making the finals of the all-Filipino conference for the first time last year, only to be stymied by a dagger, game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer by Barangay Ginebra’s Scottie Thompson in the winner-take-all Game Five of their semifinals series.
“You have to win a game like that,” said the champion coach.
“I think the most important thing is for us to put ourselves in a position to be able to do that again. That’s the most importang thing.”
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