Dillinger move leaves Black, Bolts disappointed: ‘We had a gentleman’s agreement’

Jared Dillinger (2nd from the left) and Meralco head coach Norman Black. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines–Coach Norman Black admitted that Jared Dillinger’s move to a rival team had left him astounded.

“We had a gentleman’s agreement,” he told reporters when asked about his old reliable’s move to join Barangay Ginebra from free agency on Friday.

Black said that Dillinger and the Bolts discussed about the player’s placement into the unrestricted free agent (UFA) list only while he recovering from a quad injury.

“[We told him] as soon as you’re ready, as you’re one of the main players, you’ll be right back in the mix,” he added.

But Dillinger chose to jump ship without notifying the Bolts of his decision, which was what left Black and the Meralco management disappointed.

“I mean he’s an unrestricted free agent, so he can basically do whatever he wants to do,” he said. “It’s just on our point of view, and the fact that we talked to him [prior] and he didn’t actually talk to us before he signed with Ginebra, that’s where the disappointment comes in.”

In a message shared Friday morning, Kings coach Tim Cone said his knowledge is only limited to Dillinger being released by the Bolts and that the Ginebra brass had been reaching out to him.

“I haven’t heard for sure that he has signed with us. It if it’s true, we obviously are extremely happy to have him. He’s a multi-talented guy that I’ve pursued for many years,” the league’s winningest coach said.

Dillinger had served for the MVP group all his PBA years, with five season for TNT and the last six for Meralco. He won five titles within that stretch.

Black, for his part, is now seeing beyond the drama.

“Life goes on. [There are] so many players out there. We’ll just develop the next guy,” he said. “[G]uys get older. They move on. We move on. I’ll just develop some of the other guys.”

Black was referring to his new ward Bong Quinto, who he swears is bound to become a “really good player.”

“[He] will have his opportunity to develop,” he said. “I know he’s a rookie, so he makes rookie mistakes. But what we see in the practice is a guy with multiple talents—a guy who can pass the ball, shoot the ball, score the ball, play defense.”

“It’s just a matter of time. It’s almost similar to what’s happening with Javee Mocon even though Mocon’s getting more playing time at Rain or Shine,” Black added.