December 08, 2017

Injuries to key players prompt Meralco coach Norman Black to turn to free agent market

THE Meralco Bolts have a lot of catching up to do as tipoff for the 2018 season of the PBA is fast approaching.

After a tune-up game Thursday morning at the Meralco Gym, the Bolts went straight to their two-day team building session in Tagaytay.

Their schedule is packed as head coach Norman Black knows that they don't have any time to spare.

"We're a little bit behind the other teams. They started a month or three weeks before we did but we felt that we needed to give the guys some rest because we had a really long season that finished late," Black said.

With the 2017 PBA Governors' Cup Finals stretching to seven games and with many of their players suffering different injuries, Black knew that giving the Bolts rest and calling them back for practice would be an issue.

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"We wanted to give them a chance to heal. So we're trying to strike a balance between trying to get them in shape and making sure that they do not get injured," he said.

With Reynel Hugnatan, Ranidel De Ocampo, and Cliff Hodge still unavailable due to different injuries, Black decided to focus on free agent signing to bolster their roster. Meralco added Nico Salva, Nino Canaleta, Jason Ballesteros, and Mac Baracael.

"We're looking at the entire year. We're not just looking at the all-Filipino conference," the coach explained.

"We don't have the dominant bigs that the other teams have but we normally recruit good imports that play well in the middle of the paint. So we wanted to get players who could space the floor for us. Try to make sure that the opposing team does not always double-team the post because they'll have to guard the outside too. We wanted players who can create openings for our import."

Although he knows the new additions to the Bolts could be considered as long-term investments, Black also knows that they will be very useful in the Philippine Cup.

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"In the all-Filipino, it gives us another way to win games. We don't have a dominant low post threat like San Miguel or Ginebra so the more outside shooters we have, the better chance we have of getting baskets." (Carlo Pamintuan)