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Desperate for a silver lining this 2018 PBA Philippine Cup, Meralco coach Norman Black may have stumbled on a difference-maker in a familiar face buried deep in his roster.
That proved to be Nico Salva, who repaid his coach’s faith and played the game of his life on Friday.
The seldom-used forward saw the most action he had in a Bolts jersey, tallying 20 points and two rebounds in his 23 minutes of play in their game against NLEX.
That performance was stark contrast from his averages of 0.8 points and 1.8 rebounds in his limited time this conference.
Salva is just nothing but grateful.
“Coach Norman just kept on putting me in the other games even though I wasn’t producing much. He just let me get my rhythm, get my confidence and I wanted to repay his trust and help the team out,” he said.
Unfortunately, his career night was spoiled by Kiefer Ravena’s game-winner, with Meralco suffering yet another defeat, this time an 85-87 heartbreaker at the hands of NLEX.
That fact isn’t lost on Salva, the former Ateneo star who has yet to make a splash after playing for five teams he in his five years in the league.
“Of course, the feeling is there. If we won, we could have had a better chance to go up and enter the playoffs,” he said.
Black, however, preached nothing but positivity after the tough loss, words the 27-year-old would like to live by in the remaining games in the eliminations.
“We just have to keep on working hard. And as for myself, I was able to have the opportunity to honor and glorify God using the talents that He gave me. And that’s all I want,” he said.
“Hopefully, I could sustain this.”