WHEN Spin.ph spoke to Meralco coach Norman Black on Thursday afternoon for its Zoom In episode, we told the multi-titled mentor half-jokingly that the interview would be conducted in Filipino.
Well, Black gamely did - and passed with flying colors.
The 63-year-old mentor, who has been in the Philippines since 1981, answered the questions in a mix of English, Taglish, and even pure Filipino in the course of the one-and-a-half-hour chat from Ilocos Norte to the amusement of viewers.
Black said he can talk in straight Tagalog.
“I can speak in Tagalog derecho. Puwede,” said the grand slam coach. “Ang problema lang, I have to make sure and I understand ‘yung sabi mo. Kaya I said you can talk to me in Taglish, I can answer in Tagalog.”
Black said he sometimes finds it difficult to understand a Filipino word if the person he is speaking to in Tagalog talks fast. But generally, Black doesn’t find it difficult communicating with Filipinos.
“Ang tao sa Pilipinas, sobrang bilis ang Tagalog. Mahirap talaga. Pero wala namang problema sa communication dito sa bansa,” said Black.
There is no question that Black has already called the Philippines home, and is not planning to leave it even if he retires from coaching.
“Don’t you think it’s [staying] for good already?” Black said with a smile, when asked if he is staying in the Philippines for good. “I’ve been here for 40 years. Tagal ko na dito sa bansa. Ang bahay ko, we built in 1986. I’ve been here 40 years."
Black occasionally travels to the US to visit his family, but he said his mother has been in the Philippines a lot pre-pandemic, and she loves the country.
“Ang mommy ko, pumunta dito at least eight times. She’s been here a lot. She was here right before the pandemic,” said Black.
“She likes Cebu,” he added.
On eating balut, Black said: “Okay lang. Siyempre pangit talaga pero masarap.”
Watch the full interview with Norman Black below:
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