Black’s program in place as Talk N’ Text guns for All-Filipino ‘four-peat’

MANILA, Philippines — Norman Black’s system is well in place in Talk N’ Text.

From the line-up for the upcoming PBA Philippine Cup to the Texters’ training abroad, “it’s now Black’s program,” said MVP group media officer Virgil Villavicencio Friday.

As Talk N’ Text guns for its four straight All-Filipino Cup crown, the franchise bankrolled by Manny V. Pangilinan opted to keep the line-up intact.

And most, if not all of the players are familiar with the system of Black, who steered the Texters to a title last year just after his duty with Ateneo.

“When you look at the roster, it’s basically [the players] who have worked with Norman and who knows the system,” Villavicencio said in the weekly SCOOP forum in Kamayan, Padre Faura.

No strangers to the Texters’ roster are Jimmy Alapag, Jason Castro, Ali Peek, Harvey Carey, and Ranidel De Ocampo, amogn others.

They also tabbed acquired Rob Reyes along with Black’s former players in college Eric Salamat and Noy Baclao in a three-team trade last month.

But a welcome re-addition to the Texters this year is veteran forward Kelly Williams, who is returning from a seven-month, health-related sabbatical.

Williams joined Talk N’ Text’s two-week training in Las Vegas and will be on the final roster as the league opens a new season on November 17.

Villavicencio said that he believes that Williams, who is suffering a condition called immune thrombocytopeni purpura, has found new doctor and medicine for his blood disorder.

When asked of Williams’ conditioning after a long break, Villavicencio said: “when you undergo two-week training, that’s good enough.”

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