Lack of chemistry hurting Meralco so far; ‘We don’t talk enough,’ says Black
Meralco Bolts head coach Norman Black. PBA IMAGES
With Meralco stumbling to five straight defeats in the 2016 Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup, coach Norman Black admitted that this skid has been one of the toughest in his decorated coaching career.
“Definitely one of them,” he said at the Bolts practice at Meralco Gym.
READ: Ginebra overwhelms Meralco for 2nd win
Completing another promising practice session on Thursday afternoon, the Grand Slam-winning mentor pointed out the team’s failure to bring its intensity when the bright lights are on.
“Practices have always been good. That hasn’t really been a problem, but we haven’t done a good job of bringing practice to the games. We worked on a lot of defense today and they executed well, but we have to do it in the games,” he said.
READ: Meralco’s ‘lack of defense’ leads to winless start
Black acknowledged the improvement in terms of talent for Meralco, but that change of manpower has also affected the team’s cohesiveness on the defensive end.
“Chemistry is very important. That’s what we’ve been struggling with, especially on the defensive end. We don’t talk enough, we don’t cover enough for our teammates, we don’t rotate enough. Those are just things you have to keep on working on and hopefully, the repetition will make you a better team,” he said.
The players, though, have been taking the extra step in practice as the Bolts hope to finally stop their slide. That’s why Meralco spent two hours in the dugout after its latest defeat – an 89-64 loss to Ginebra on Tuesday in Biñan, Laguna.
READ: Black sees long road ahead for Meralco
“I think we recognize as a group the problem of the team. Chemistry hasn’t been anywhere near where we want it to be. We just have to continue to work on it. There’s no one word solution for our problems,” said Black. “We want our players to play better, we want them to perform better, and we want to win. We challenge them everyday.”
“Again, this is a new team. We’ve been working very hard to break out of this slump and that’s really the focus.”
Meralco returns to the hardwood on Saturday against Star.
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