PBA: Meralco kicks off grueling stretch against tough teams with crucial win

Meralco Bolts’ coach Norman Black. –PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines—Meralco may have won a nail-biter against juggernaut Magnolia in the PBA Governors’ Cup tournament on Sunday but coach Norman Black revealed there is still lots of work to do if the Bolts want to enter the playoffs with momentum.

This week will prove to be the Bolts’ hardest stretch. After going on a physical war against the Hotshots where they won by just two, 86-84, they will have to face Ginebra, Converge and Phoenix later this week.

“I took a look at the schedule and wow. Four games in eight days against three of the toughest teams in the league? This (win) is just the first step, actually.  We still play Ginebra on Wednesday, Converge on Friday and Phoenix on Sunday,” told Black at Araneta Coliseum.

“Phoenix won today so their playoff hopes are really alive, so all three games will be really tough for us.”

In the first game of Sunday’s double-header, the Fuel Masters outlasted the FiberXers, 106-103, bringing them to a 3-5 record for the eighth seed.

Black also had some positive things to say about the league’s schedule, saying every team has fair treatment to make the playing field even.

“In fairness to the league, every team is going through some type of tough schedules at this point and that’s mainly because of Fiba and some other activities so the PBA had to put this type of schedule,” said the top coach.

“Sometimes, if you’re doing well in a schedule like this, you don’t mind it. In other words, if you’re winning, you like to play every other game because you have momentum and rhythm of the game already,” he added.

Such has not been completely the case for Meralco, having lost three of their seven games in the season-ending conference prior to their victory. The win, however, gave them a one-up over Magnolia in the ladder for the sixth spot.

The Hotshots fell to 4-4 while the Bolts improved to 5-3. 

CONDITIONING CONCERNS

Despite the win, Black said there are things he needs to work on to get Meralco going for the tough one-week stretch. One of which is his squad’s rotation.

“Obviously, we have to worry about conditioning. I didn’t really play that many players tonight so maybe next game I’ll have to play more players to keep guys fresh but we just wanted to get this win tonight.”

Three players played for 32 minutes or more for Meralco. Aaron Black was fielded for 32 minutes while Chris Newsome played for 38. KJ McDaniels, however, had the brunt of playing almost the full game with 44 minutes.

The import still finished with a double-double of 19 points and 15 rebounds but since having played almost all four quarters, his fatigue may be rattled for next week.

If the Bolts aim to finish the elimination round in the top four, they will have to leapfrog over the Gin Kings, who are holding a 4-2 card.

Conveniently for Black, both teams will clash with the Commissioners’ Cup champions on Wednesday at the same venue.