Meralco’s Mohammad Jamshidi. PBA IMAGES
Meralco’s Asian import Mohammad Jamshidi arrived in the Philippines a day before the Bolts’ opening game in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
He didn’t have ample time to acquaint himself with the Meralco system with the Bolts first game set in the opening day of the PBA Governors’ Cup on Friday.
That left Bolts head coach Norman Black with the need to improvise. And that he did.
Black and Jamshidi had some early workouts at Smart Araneta Coliseum—but not at the wooden floor of the storied venue—and the head coach took his Iranian swingman to the basics.
“We did not have a chance to practice with him [Jamshidi] so we utilized the basketball court in the Araneta driveway to teach him as many plays as possible,” said Black.
The practice courts are located at the South Gate of the venue where OB vans are usually parked. It’s just a couple of rims beside each other with a cement flooring.
“Tomorrow we’ll teach him a little bit of offense and defense.”
Black’s basic training worked, though, as the Bolts trumped Phoenix 108-103 with Jamshidi contributing nine points and three assists in his PBA debut.