EVEN ahead of his forthcoming PVL Finals debut with Chery Tiggo, Norman Miguel is no stranger to the championship stage.
The former National U head coach steered the one-two punch of Bella Belen and Alyssa Solomon along with the rest of the Lady Bulldogs to a vengeful UAAP Season 86 title, having lost the crown the year prior.
For the first time in the pros, Miguel gets his shot at crossing over his success in Jhocson to the big leagues.
READ: Chery Tiggo books PVL on Tour finals spot after ousting Cignal
And if there’s anything he’s learned on what it takes to turn powerhouse sides to champion squads, it’s about building a solid connection among each and every team member on and off the court.
Such bonds won’t always be perfect and will face bumps along the way, but at the very least, they still have to be as strong and airtight as can be.
“Based na rin du’n sa mga past experiences ko na swerteng nagpachampion, yung connection talaga,” Miguel said.
“Yung connection with the players sa akin kasi, malaking bagay yun eh na may nae-establish kang relationship. Although siyempre, hindi siya laging smooth-flowing, during the training kasi may mga bumps yan eh.
“Still, hindi mo dapat i-give up yung connection mo sa bawat isa kasi du’n magbi-build yung trust eh. Kaya every time may nagtatanong sa akin, yun lagi yung sinasabi ko.
“Importante sa akin yung makaconnect ako, mapasok ko yung sarili ko du’n sa kaloob-looban nila at magka-intindihan kami.”
Stick to the status quo
As far as the X’s and O’s of the game go, Miguel is a firm believer that his ‘star-less’ Crossovers must stick to delivering a balanced and well-distributed charge rather than forcing themselves to unearth a super scorer from within.
“Sa team namin, kailangan kasi talaga magco-contribute lahat. Based sa experiences namin, kapag yung mga previous losses namin, it’s evident na kaya kami natatalo kasi isa lang or dalawa lang ang nagco-contribute,” Miguel said.
“Lately, yung past wins namin, yun na yung factor eh, may nag-cocontribute talaga na bawat isa nakakapagbigay ng points and there are like three or four players na nagdodouble-digit.
“Malaking bagay yun [for the championship].”
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