The Meralco Bolts absorbed their second straight defeat into the hands of Ricardo Ratliffe and the now-league leaders Star Hotshots Wednesday night, leaving head coach Norman Black nothing but disappointed.
“Very poor performance in our part offensively and defensively. We played very bad,” rued the 59-year-old mentor after the Bolts’ humiliating 108-90 loss at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
But aside from his team’s su-bpar outing, what made Black more frustrated was Alex Stepheson’s non-existence against Star. After averaging 17.8 markers and 22.3 caroms, the American finished with only nine points and nine boards, his lowest output in the conference.
Furthermore, Stepheson was kicked out of the game midway into the final frame, after being whistled for his sixth foul against Ratliffe.
“Our import was missing in action today, didn’t really play well. In fairness to him, he has been sick for the last couple of days, he’s been pretty weak… Diarrhea, he’s really been out physically,” stressed the eight-time PBA champion coach. “But I never expected him to play like the way he played today.
“About four or five minutes, he look tired already. It appeared to be that way the entire game. He’s a big part of what we do offensively and defensively, so if he’s going to have that type of performance, we’re gonna have a hard time.”
The recent loss have sent the Bolts’ hopes of placing atop the standings in peril. But that is the least of Black’s concern though, as he is more keen on having his wards on a better rhythm as they head into the playoffs.
“I am about the performance in general. The fact that we played poorly and the fact that my import is non-existent tonight, that really concerns me moving forward,” Black said.
“We want to go into the quarters playing good basketball, and in the last couple of games we played quite poorly, particularly tonight, so we just have to find a way to turn it around.”
But before heading into the next round, the Bolts have to overcome the surging Barangay Ginebra first on Sunday. Black knows how much of a tall order it is facing the crowd favorites, but he hopes for nothing but the best.
“Well obviously, we gotta play a lot better than what we played tonight if we wanna have a chance to beat Ginebra. They’re playing on a high level right now, offensively and defensively.
“And let’s just hope we can get Alex well before Sunday, so that we can give a better performance,” Black voiced.
