Norman Black sweeps in 1st back-to-back tilt since US team days

Meralco Bolts head coach Norman Black has done it all, both on the court as a player and on the sidelines as the chief shot-caller.

But even someone with a decorated career like Black’s is experiencing something new in the wildly unpredictable 2020 PBA Philippine Cup inside the Clark bubble in Pampanga.

The challenge this time around? Adapting to grueling back-to-back game schedules, and bracing for the possibility of morning and early afternoon outings in the league’s 12-hour quadruple-header dates.

“Back-to-back games? We’ve never had anything like this in Ateneo,” said the architect of the legendary Blue Eagles’ title five-peat in the UAAP from 2008 to 2012. “This is different.”

“This is gonna be 4 games in 5 days, and basically in preparing for Rain or Shine, I did most of that this morning, then a little bit last night. Of course, you have no chance to go over anything on the floor, to explain anything to players. You just have to go out and play.”

Thankfully for the 11-time champion coach and Grand Slam winner, his players pulled through and swept their first back-to-back schedule for the week to go up to 4th place in the standings with a 5-3 record.

In both wins against Rain or Shine and the Blackwater Elite, at least 3 Bolts scored in double-digits, most notably Chris Newsome and the ageless Reynel Hugnatan.

“This is a lot different from anything I’ve ever experienced,” Black added. “The only time I experienced something like this is when I played for the US national team when I first got out of college. We had back-to-back games throughout the tournament.”

With the playoffs just around the corner, the worst is not yet over for Meralco as they will next face the mighty TNT Tropang Giga on Saturday, November 7, and the win-seeking Terrafirma Dyip on Sunday, November 8.

“This is different, there’s no question about it,” Black said. – Rappler.com