MANILA, Philippines – Meralco coach Norman Black didn’t join Gilas Pilipinas’ ongoing tournament in the Jones Cup to take care of the Bolts’ early preseason training camp.
With the return of big man Rabeh Al-Hussaini from a one-year hiatus, along with the acquisition of Bryan Faundo and Justin Chua from the free agency market, Black felt the Bolts now have a younger, more reliable front court to work on come next season.
The three new big men will be joining veterans Sean Anthony, Cliff Hodge, Reynel Hugnatan and Kelly Nabong – a front line that Black feels can now match up with powerhouse San Miguel Beer, Star Hotshots and Talk ‘N Text.
“We wanted to go for big men about three weeks before the draft because we didn’t really have any,” Black told Philstar.com.
“But we were able to commit Rabeh to come back and play for us. And then we picked up Bryan Faundo from Blackwater, plus we picked up Justin Chua (from Barako Bull), in addition to Kelly Nabong, whom we got last season in the third conference,” he added.
“So you couple them with Reynel, Sean and Cliff, and we think we’re pretty full at the bigs already.”
Black, who also serves as one of Gilas' assistant coaches, boosted the team’s guard spot by selecting Chris Newsome as the team’s fourth overall pick in the recent PBA Annual Rookie Draft, before adding San Beda playmaker Baser Amer, who was tabbed at no. 7.
“We really picked the players we wanted from the draft,” shared the 11-time PBA champion coach.
With the retooled roster now in place, the Bolts are in the midst of a two-week training with world-famous basketball trainer Joe Abunassar, who runs the Impact Basketball program in Las Vegas.
Black said the team’s two-week schedule consists of a lot of individual workout, conditioning and team training, while mixing it up with tam bonding in the US.
“A lot of times, when you’re here in Metro Manila, it’s hard to get the players off the court. But when we go out of the country, when we go out of town, we have the players 24/7 which is what we wanted to do even if it’s just two weeks,” said Black, who guided Meralco to a semifinal finish in the Commissioner’s Cup.
“We believe it will benefit us down the road.”
Black isn’t counting his team yet as the early Philippine Cup favorites at this point, but the American coach definitely expects the Bolts to be competitive by next season.