NORMAN Black was very apologetic. He had failed to keep an important appointment before Christmas without bothering to serve notice and he just vanished after that.
I thought he had gone to the States to spend the holidays with his mother and at the same time search for an import for the second conference which starts in February.
On the second day of 2015, Norman resurfaced. He asked if he could drop by the house to deliver a Christmas gift which I took to be a peace offering.
* * *
“I couldn’t make it to our meeting because that was the day after we lost to Alaska and were booted out of the semifinals. You understand,” Norman explained.
He spent the holidays here in Manila, and had no need to look for an import since they had already contracted one for the next conference who is arriving sometime this month.
The import has not played in the PBA before and Norman said he has no way of evaluating his caliber until he’s played here.
No, he doesn’t feel bad or disappointed about the performance of the Meralco Bolts.
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Norman said. “Meralco finished tied for fifth place with Ginebra and Purefoods.”
A big improvement indeed, considering that the Bolts were wallowing at the cellar last season.
Norman believes though that the team could do better with a tall man like Greg Slaughter or Japeth Aguilar of Ginebra.
* * *
Having acquired two draft picks in 2015, Norman could complete his dream team for Meralco by the PBA’s 41st season.
Norman said there are three Filipinos raised abroad playing in the PBA D-League right now, all of them first draft pick material.
The first name he mentioned was Bobby Ray Parks, son of Norman’s good friend and fellow import Bobby Parks Sr., who passed away two years ago.
Norman said the 6-foot-3 Parks tried out in the NBA D-League and was invited to play in the Lakers Summer Camp last July. According to Norman, if a cager is invited to an NBA team’s summer camp, there is a good chance that he’d be signed up by the team.
The NBA doors had actually opened to Ray Parks, except that he failed to submit a requirement.
“Ray failed to submit an early entry form, thus he was not allowed to take the next step after the Lakers summer camp,” Norm said. “Next year, he’s sure to submit the form.”
If Ray is accepted, he plays in the NBA; if not, he plays in the PBA where he applies for the 2015 Rookie Draft.
The other cagers Norman is looking out for in the draft are the 6-foot-7 Moala Tautuaa, who plays for the Cagayan Rising Suns, Café France’s Maverick Ahamnisi, M-Builders’ Mac Belo, and Kiefer Ravena.