Hizon joins Elite as team consultant

Vince Hizon. Photo by Randolph B. Leongson/ INQUIRER.net

Ginebra’s old never say die spirit is coming to Blackwater.

In hopes of instilling the winning attitude to the upstart Elite squad, coach Leo Isaac has enlisted the services of his former teammate Vince Hizon to be a team consultant starting on the 2017 PBA Governors’ Cup.

“He can inject more on individual progress ng players,” said the affable mentor.

With his new role, the PBA great is looking help the team get out of the cellar.

“I’m enjoying this time. It’s nice to get to know the players. Our generations are different but the competitiveness is still there,” he said.

Hizon last roamed the sidelines in Adamson, where he backstopped coach Kenneth Duremdes with the Soaring Falcons in the UAAP.

Asked what his tasks are with the Elite, the former Ginebra guard joked, “I do everything and nothing at the same time.”

But he cleared that he’s expected to give a fresh perspective to the coaching staff.

“They just want to have a different perspective on what’s happening. They just want to get my views. I tell them what I think – good or bad – and it’s all in the spirit of trying to improve the team, to get better,” he said.

Hizon also believes that Blackwater has promising pieces to make a deep run in the season-ending conference after missing the playoffs for the past four conferences.

“We have some good players. We have a lot of good forwards. With our point guards, we’re a little bit short, but very competitive as well,” he said. “From watching the games, it’s nice to see that they compete – but up to a certain point. It seems like they always have a hard time in the fourth quarter, so we’re trying to see what we can do to remedy that.”