NORMAN Black believes that Meralco simply didn’t have enough energy for the entire game as it saw its four-game winning streak snapped in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup by TNT on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Black said they were just simply outworked by the hungrier Ka-Tropa who were coming off back to back losses.
“We played with a very low amount of energy and we didn't execute well. I give credit to the Talk ‘N Text team but from our end, we just didn't have much energy tonight,” said Black.
“Our execution at the start of the game was very bad, our shooting was not there tonight, even our rebounding was poor tonight,” he added.
Not even the exit of TNT’s hulking import Joshua Smith early in the third period could stop the Ka-Tropa, and Black rued that missed chance as they continued to play lackadaisical basketball until the end.
“Maybe him (Smith) going out of the game should have helped us a little bit but instead, it was just the opposite because we still displayed the same low energy level that we had in the first half,” Black said.
The good news for the Black and the Bolts is that they have scored enough wins early in the season and are already looking at positioning for the playoffs.
Tied with the Ka-Tropa in second and third place at 7-3, the Bolts can still finish the elimination round at the top of the standings as they chase league leader Rain or Shine (8-1).
They get a crack at the Elasto Painters on Sunday.
“We didn't play with the same energy that we played with in the four wins and it showed. They were quicker than us, I think they won the hustle stats by a pretty good margin and can't expect to have a low energy and expect to win in the PBA,” Black said. Fortunately for us, we've had high energy for the majority of this conference but tonight, our energy was quite low.”
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