VINCE Hizon tries to instill some never-say-die spirit to Blackwater after recently being hired as consultant to the young squad.
The former Ginebra star explained his job description in a chat with media after sitting on the bench in the Elite’s 105-101 loss to Gilas Pilipinas in their tune-up game on Friday night.
“I do everything and nothing at the same time,” Hizon said with a chuckle before turning serious. “Hindi, they just want to have a different perspective on what’s happening. They just want to get my views.
“I tell them what I think – good or bad – and it’s all in the spirit of trying to improve the team, to get better,” the 10-year PBA veteran added.
[See Carl Bryan Cruz proves worth as Gilas nips Blackwater to go 2-for-2 in tuneups]
Hizon, whose last coaching stint was a few years ago when he served as an assistant to Kenneth Duremdes at Adamson, noted the Elite’s promising roster, but one that falls short at crunch time – like in the loss to the national team.
The Elite stayed toe to toe before succumbing to a late run by Gilas. The game was tied at 95, before Blackwater saw the Philippine team mount a 10-3 rally that gave the Nationals enough cushion to prevail.
“We have some good players,” Hizon, a TV analyst, said. “We have a lot of good forwards. Point guards, we’re a little bit short, but very competitive as well."
“I’ve been covering the games on Cignal and TV5, so from watching all the games, it’s nice to see that they compete – but up to a certain point,” he added. “It seems like they always have a hard time – like tonight – in the fourth quarter, so we’re trying to see what we can do to remedy that.”
Blackwater coach Leo Isaac welcomed the addition of Hizon to his staff.
“He can inject more on the individual progress of players,” Isaac, a former Ginebra player as well, said.
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