IF THERE is one team that continues to draw Meralco coach Luigi Trillo's attention, it's Converge.
"Maganda itinatakbo ng Converge ngayon," stated Trillo.
"'Yung flow ng opensa nila... they'll wear you down because they're so disciplined," added Trillo, even going on to predict either the FiberXers or the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots should emerge as the kingpin of the league's pre-season presented by Arena Plus and sponsored by Bingo Plus.
"I think 'yung Magnolia and Converge, sila ang teams to beat," opined Trillo. "Who else is as solid as them? Their players are on the same page and have started this on a spin."
Hurdling or even getting near the perceived bar those teams have set remains Trillo's vision, making him look forward even more to his Bolts' collision with the FiberXers Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
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Game time is 5 p.m.
"I'm excited to play Converge because I think they're very well-coached at maayos galaw nila," said Trillo. "They know how to use the system ni coach (Aldin) Ayo."
Both teams are coming off losses with Meralco losing via a 93-100 count to Phoenix Super LPG last Sunday and Converge dropping a 95-99 decision to Magnolia three days later.
Trillo admitted there are definitely certain areas his Bolts should improve on while Aaron Black, Chris Newsome, Chris Banchero and Diego Dario are still sidelined by injuries and getting used to the new system he and active consultant Nenad Vucinic laid down since they were appointed just last month.
"Talagang naninibago pa," said Trillo. "Defensively, we're still not on the same page kasi it's a new system so pati offense medyo kapaan pa."
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Those will not deter Trillo from molding Meralco to becoming the team he and Vucinic envisioned. "It will take some time before it gets better," he said.
"If we wanted to shortcut it and we wanted to gain wins now, we could certainly run the system that we had (under former head coach Norman Black), and we still do some," added Trillo.
"But if you're forward-thinking or long-term-thinking, it won't look that good now because there are certain things that these guys are adapting to. When we see them again (starting) in October and we have our full lineup and the people have a better grasp of what we're doing and they're acting there on the court instead of just reacting, I think we're going to be better. Mas gaganda itatakbo niyan." (NC)
