FOR Tim Cone, this one’s like a homecoming for Norbert Torres.
Cone divulged how he and the Barangay Ginebra coaching staff were torn between selecting Scottie Thompson and the 6-foot-7 Torres for the No. 5 overall pick during the 2015 draft.
Cone eventually picked the 6-foot-1 Thompson, the former NCAA MVP and a known triple-double machine from University of Perpetual Help. Torres, the former national youth player who won a UAAP men’s championship with La Salle, going three picks later at No. 8 to the Star Hotshots (Magnolia).
READ Ginebra to sign Norbert Torres from unrestricted free agent list
Thompson, 32, validated his selection by winning seven championships with the Ginebra franchise while being the lone player so far to break the dominant MVP reign of big man June Mar Fajardo when he bagged the award in 2021.
Recalled Cone, “Way back then, we were actually deciding between Norbert and Scottie in the draft, and we ended up getting Scottie because he was too good to pass up, although we were interested in getting a big man.”
To Cone’s good fortune, he will now have both Torres and Thompson in his lineup as the two teams up for the Kings in the coming PBA Season 50.
Released by Meralco, the free agent Fil-Canadian found an interested taker in Ginebra, which immediately signed him to a one-year contract.
“Norbert was a free agent,” Cone stressed. “So he comes full circle here now and we’ve been able to pick him up.”
The arrival of Torres couldn’t have come at a perfect time especially with big man Japeth Aguilar expected to miss the first few games of the Kings in the Philippine Cup after undergoing hand surgery this offseason.
Torres will work side-by-side with Troy Rosario and Ben Adamos as another big man in Isaac Go won’t be available until early next year while recovering from an ACL injury.
Picking up Torres was actually meant to give Aguilar, 38, time to rest and recover, according to Cone.
“We just feel like Japeth had to overplay minutes and he would wear down and wasn’t efficient in the latter stages of the game,” the Ginebra coach pointed out.
“And we felt we needed someone to come in and give him more rest so he can play his minutes more efficiently.”
Besides, Cone likes the way a big-bodied big man like Torres can move around the perimeter.
“I like his skills, I like his ability to play in the perimeter and play with his big body. So we’ll see how he fits in the triangle [offense],” he added.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
