Although the Meralco Bolts bowed out of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup after losing to the Alaska Aces in Game Five of their semifinals duel, 76-70 Wednesday night, head coach Norman Black is still proud of what the team has accomplished in the conference.
“Overall, I thought it was a big improvement from last conference. Meralco team at least is more respected now as far as being competitive,” Black said. “We just continue to try to get better and grow as a team. Hopefully next conference we continue to be competitive.”
The Bolts fought neck and neck in the series decider, even taking a 67-66 lead late in the fourth quarter of a defensive slugfest. The Aces however, closed the game on a 10-3 run to punch the final ticket to the conference finals.
Black shared the Aces had the advantage in experience, and he is hoping his own squad, especially the younger group, learns valuable lessons from the semi-finals series.
Chris Newsome (PBA Images)
“That’s the advantage Alaska had over us. They are an experienced team. Hopefully, the fact we got to the semifinals will help guys like (Chris) Newsome, and Anjo (Caram) and Baser (Amer) for the future conferences because there is no better teacher than experience,” Black said.
“Sometimes you really have to go through it to eventually break through and win a championship.”
Overall, Black said his Bolts exceeded expectations including his expectations. Moving forward, the crew is looking to continue to get better and be one of the most competitive PBA teams.
“We’ve done better than anybody expected including myself. Of course when you work hard everyday, you are hoping for success. That’s what we go to work for everyday. I think if you ask anybody about Meralco’s performance they would be surprised, but at the same time we are disappointed to lose. We had our chances today,” Black said.
“But there is another conference coming up and we will try to learn from our mistakes. We have the ability to continue to get better.”
