Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
It may sound repetitive, but coach Norman Black truly believes that the lessons learned from Meralco’s failed campaigns should be building blocks for the team going forward.
The Bolts bowed out of the 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals in heartbreaking fashion, a 104-96 overtime loss to TNT on Friday, but there’s no reason for the team to bow their heads.
“I told the players that it’s all about learning experience. Obviously in the end, there’s going to be one winner so everybody else is gonna be losers. It’s just heartbreaking because we should’ve won the game, we we’re right there, and we made the mistakes down the stretch to lose the game,” he said.
Meralco squandered a golden opportunity to advance to the semifinals a number of times, losing hold of its 14-point lead in the third frame and a five-point edge in the last 2:29.
With the Bolts holding on to a tight 89-88 edge, Ranidel de Ocampo was whistled for a technical foul for not reporting to the scorer’s table, but Chris Newsome muffed the accompanying freebie with 12.3 seconds remaining. Though the KaTropa failed to score on the other end, Newsome turned the ball over anew as his pass to the foot of Joshua Smith got picked up by Jayson Castro, who would go on and send the game to overtime.
The tough sequences late in the game obviously took a toll on the Bolts as a deflated crew failed to match up against TNT in the extra five minutes.
Black knows that accepting defeat is tough after almost tasting the win, but he’s hopeful that these bitter experiences will serve his team right once these situations arose again.
“Right now, my backcourt, who I should say are two second-year players, are very talented but is only in the league for five conferences, so just give them a chance to mature and get the experience needed to make the right plays in that situation,” he said, referring to Newsome and Baser Amer. “Hopefully, when we get into this situation, we won’t make those same mistakes.“
But there’s a reason for optimism for Meralco, especially with the way Amer made the leap this conference.
“He took over the leadership for the team at the point guard position and he’s been very productive. I thought he was our leading scorer this conference and probably one of our leading assists guys and one of our leading rebounders. He did well this conference and hopefully, he can build on that,” he said.
The Bolts will have ample time to do just that as they are set to welcome back Allen Durham in the season-ending Governors’ Cup.