Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
Meralco coach Norman Black didn’t mince words when talking about the Bolts’ 85-86 defeat to GlobalPort on Friday, especially the crucial flubbed attempt from Jared Dillinger.
“We took a very poor attempt in the end game. We’re only down by two points, we took a hurried three-pointer, which I thought was the difference of the game,” he said.
With the Batang Pier holding on to a slim 84-82 lead against the Bolts in the final 14.3 seconds, Jared Dillinger went for the lead with a rushed three in the ensuing possession.
The shot may have been forgivable had it found the bottom of the net, but that was far from what happened as Dillinger air-balled what could’ve been the go-ahead bucket.
“It’s a poor attempt and he could’ve gotten a much better shot than that down the stretch,” he lamented.
That miss led Pringle to ice the game at the free throw line before Chris Newsome squeaked a trey at the buzzer to trim down the winning margin to one.
It didn’t matter, however, as the game still ended in a loss for the Bolts and Black could not stop himself from chiding Dillinger for the botched attempt.
“He did not play well in the game, so maybe he thought that was his opportunity to win the game. But it ended up being a poor attempt,” said the veteran mentor of Dillinger, who went scoreless and was 0-of-6 from downtown.
Black, though, isn’t putting blame on one person and he expects his wards to use this loss as a learning lesson ahead of the Bolts’ next game against NLEX on Wednesday.
“I didn’t think this game was well played – at least not from our end. It’s a game we could’ve won if we had made some plays down the stretch. But we just have to continue to work hard, try to bounce back,” he said.